Love is New to Me: Emmett Finds his Mate
by bnutter
Summary: There will be mature or adult content in this fic. There may be triggers for some so please be aware and read with caution. Any Twilight characters do not belong to me and are solely the property of Stephanie Meyer. I am using them purely for fun and my own creative purposes. I claim only the story I make up as my original work (minus the characters fore mentioned).
1. Chapter 1

Love is New to Me: Emmett and His Mate

By Brittlyn Nutter

I'm new to college and very nervous about it. Most people who are eighteen don't ever seem this nervous about starting college. I am. I have never dreamed of going to Alaska to start college. It is all so new being so far from family and friends. I want to show people that I can do this though. Right now I'm undecided and living in the dorms.

I've had people tell me that college will be fun. Even in movies it seems like college has been romanticized to death. I'm just happy to get away from home for a little bit. Only going in for holidays will be nice. I will of course call to check in with my family every day. I was looking forward to meeting some new people while I'm here.

On my first day of class I was really nervous about going to class. I barely knew my roommate who seemed to be totally fine with just leaving me alone to go be with her boyfriend or with her friends. I'm only a couple days in on having a roommate and I have already been abandon. I rush to get a shower and get out the door on time. I want to make sure that I make it to each class on time.

It turns out that I gave myself too much time. I made it to the room I'm supposed to be at thirty minutes early. Luckily I had my cat ear headphones on. I loved using them because the cat ear parts had speakers and they had lights in a couple places on the headphones. I listened to my music trying to calm my nerves. Other people started showing up for class. They walked in before I did. Just before I walked in to join the others for our English class, a family of six eighteen-year-old look a like's walk through the hall door.

Suddenly the song I was listening to made so much sense to me. They were all so beautiful in a way that made you feel jealous. I was caught by all of them as I stared at their beauty. I looked to each face getting different reactions. Everything from understanding to anger was on each individual face. I quickly looked away and went in to class and took a seat somewhere in the middle row on the outside edge closest to the door. I wanted to be able to make a quick escape if I needed to. Then after I sat down the six siblings took a seat in the classroom.

_**Fuck**_, I thought to myself, _**why did they have to be in this class with me?!**_

I wish I could die. I tried my best to focus on anything but them. I didn't look at them or think about them. I pulled up my schedule on my phone to make sure I knew what class I had next and what building it was in. I'd be walking all the way across campus to my next class. I was going to have to run, especially if we were held over, to get there on time. I took my headphones off and paused my music. A girl sitting next to me started talking to me along with a guy behind me.

"Hi! My name's Alyssa. I love your headphones!" She told me.

"Hi my name is James. I like them too. Where did you get them?" He said.

"Hi. I'm Brittlyn." I said giving a weak smile. "They were a gift from my parents."

They both smiled at me and turned around to the front of the room as the teacher called the class to attention. I was happy to have a woman as a professor. It was going to be a fun class I hope. The professor went over all the basic rules and such that we knew even in high school. It was pretty simple to remember.

Considering it was the first day of class we were let out early. I quickly gathered my things back into my bag. I put my headphones back on after Alyssa and James gave me a stickie note with their names and numbers on them. I turned my music back on and left the room quickly. I had all but forgotten about the six students who looked beautiful.

When I walked outside, the air took my breath away for a second. Then I sped walked across campus to my next class. It was a psychology class. As soon as I sat down two people walked in that I had English with. It was a boy with reddish-brown hair and a girl with long brown hair. They sat in the same row as me and stared at me again.

I looked away after catching them. I flushed a bright red. After this class I had one more, but I just took the elevator up to the fourth floor of the building. It was a photography class. I immediately recognized a boy in the class who sat in the back by himself. He was one of the six beautiful people I saw this morning. He looked over at me and just stared. I felt uncomfortable as he stared. I sat in the middle row on the edge again.

I kept looking at him from the corner of my eye. I couldn't tell if he noticed me staring at him, but I definitely noticed is staring at me though. After this class was over, I was free to go back to my dorm room. I decided I might as well put Alyssa and James' numbers into my phone now. I also thought going out this weekend might be nice. So I texted them and asked if they wanted to go out this weekend for some drinks. They said that sounded like fun. Alyssa knew of a good bar close by that they could get the three of them into without any trouble.

My first week passed by really quickly. I was relieved to have it over with. It was Friday night and I met up with Alyssa and James to go and have fun with. I was more than ready to find some kind of relief of the stress. I've drank a little bit back home before, but it wasn't going to compare to what I was planning on doing tonight. I just hoped that I didn't get myself into too much trouble over the next few hours of the night.


	2. Chapter 2

It was Monday morning again. I was up bright and early. I was walking to class feeling less nervous now. I knew a few people from each class. Music was my first class every week. Which generally didn't bother me all that much. I loved music more than I did anything else in my life. It was the one thing that could calm my nerves and keep them at a decent level. I knew I was a person to worry over the silliest things sometimes, but it couldn't be helped.

As I sat down in what was going to be my usual seat. The beautiful people that I saw on my first day were there again. I was successfully ignoring them. It wasn't so hard to do because I was so focused on school work. It was a pleasant distraction. I only hoped it would stay like this with all the classes that I had with the group.

In my psychology class, I noticed the bigger dark haired boy walking in with the professor. They were smiling and having a nice conversation. I happened to hear enough of it as they walked closer to where I was sitting at. I happened to catch the boy calling the professor by her first name which was Esme. I thought that was a beautiful name. And I caught his name which was Emmett. Emmett came over and sat down close to me. Actually he sat down in the seat right next to mine. I thought that was unusual, but I sat there anyway trying not to look too uncomfortable.

"Hi. My name is Emmett Cullen. Well actually my last name is McCarty, but Esme, our professor, and her husband who is a doctor both adopted me and my siblings. What's your name?" Emmett asked.

"My name is Brittlyn. It's nice to meet you Emmett." I said.

That's when Professor Cullen started speaking. She began class by telling us we needed to find a partner for future projects we'd be doing in class. She said we could pair up with any other person in the room. That's when I looked over to Alyssa and James. They had already paired up with each other from the looks of it. I looked to Emmett beside me. He was smiling a little bit.

There was something dazzling about his smile. I smiled back, flushing a bright red.

"Want to be partners?" I asked.

He smiled even bigger this time. "I'd like that." He said.

We turned back to Professor Cullen who was watching us. Emmett smiled at her. I couldn't help but look away now. I was embarrassing myself by staring so much. I looked down at my desk. That's when I heard my phone buzzing. I wasn't expecting any calls and this was a surprise. I looked up to Esme who was frowning at me. I took my phone out and turned it off. I would call whoever it was back after class.

"I'm sorry about that Professor Cullen." I said.

"It's okay Brittlyn. Do you need to go and call them back?" She asked.

"I can do it after class." I said.

Esme smiled and nodded. She continued with class for another hour and fifteen minutes. Once class was over, I put my things back in my bag and dug my phone out again. I walked out into the hallway to see who called. I noticed that it was my mom. I quickly called back in case it was an emergency. Mom picked up on the second ring.

"Hey mom. Is everything ok?" I asked.

"Yeah everything is fine. Sorry about that. I forgot that you were in class. I was calling o talk with you. I was going to leave a message but you stopped that didn't you? Is your inbox too special for me now?" Mom said with a sneer.

"No mom that's not it. I had to turn my phone off because I was in class. I couldn't step out to take it because of how long the class is and I really want to make a good impression on my professors." I explained to her.

"Fine. If that is so much more important than your own family then don't worry about ever having to speak to us again!" She shouted through the phone.

"Mom, that's not-" I was cut off by the click on the other end.

Mom always seemed to overreact to these things. I wasn't intentionally trying to upset her. I just needed her to listen long enough for me to explain why I do what I do. Which she never let me do because she always got too mad to ever listen to me.

I turned around to leave the building and go back to my dorm room for the day. I've already had enough drama for once and was ready to be alone. When I turned to walk back, I saw Emmett and his mother watching me with a concerned look. I looked down in embarrassment and started walking away. I couldn't handle this now. I wasn't trying to be rude, I just didn't feel up to talking about this with other people.

As I walked outside, the cold air made me realize I had teared up and let a few escape. My cheeks were really hot and I was too upset to face anyone. At times like this I just wish I were dead. It wasn't worth it to be with my family or really have anything to do with them. They always took advantage of me. I couldn't stand it there anymore. Which is a part of the reason why I moved out here anyway. I sat down on a bench and just cried a little as happy people walked by me going to and from classes.


	3. Chapter 3

A few minutes later I felt two different pairs of hands on me. One was gently rubbing my back while the other was carefully placed on my shoulder. I looked up to see who was touching me. It was Emmett and his adoptive mother. They both smiled at me and waited for me to speak first.

"I'm sorry you guys have to see me as such a mess. Usually I'm a bit better at controlling my emotions." I explained.

"Don't apologize for this. It's okay to let your emotions out." Esme said.

"She's right. You seem so upset. I am the kind of person who doesn't like to see people upset." Emmett added.

"Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" Esme asked.

I shook my head. "I'm fine thank you. I appreciate you and your son being so kind to me Professor Cullen."

"It's really no problem. Actually I think Emmett is very fond of you. He keeps talking about you as if he already knows you." Esme said. "And please call me Esme."

I smiled. "Thank you. You guys are very kind."

"I was wondering if you'd like to hang out together today." Emmett asked.

"That be great Emmett. I could really use a distraction right now." I said with a hopeful smile.

We all stood up. It was nice to know that I had made a new friend and knew he had such a wonderful mother. I wish mine could be so great sometimes. It'd be a nice change from how she usually is.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked Emmett.

"Well I was wondering if you'd like to come and meet the rest of my family. I think you'd really like them. I know they all want to meet you too." Emmett said.

"I'd really like that." I told him with a shy smile.

I was really beginning to like Emmett. Maybe I was just being silly by trusting him so easily. Maybe he was just as nice as he seemed to be. I wasn't entirely sure yet. Sometimes I think I know someone and it turns out I'm completely wrong about them. I guess I'd just have to wait and see.


	4. Chapter 4

I was really nervous about meeting Emmett's family. I knew Esme and Emmett only because they just started talking with me. I appreciated them making the effort. It made them seem less intimidating.

Their home was fifteen minutes outside of the town limits. They lived in the middle of the woods. I was confused by this, but didn't question it. I kept to myself as we drove to their home. I couldn't stop thinking about meeting the rest of the beautiful family that I have to see every week in class.

I wondered why they'd invite me over to their home right after meeting me. I couldn't understand why they'd want to do that. Maybe they had something else in mind. Maybe I was being naive and they were going to keep me captive.

All these bad thoughts kept popping into my head as we arrived at their home. Their home was huge. It made all the bad thoughts even worse. Esme and Emmett got out of the car. They talked for a second. Esme went inside and left Emmett out here with me. He opened the door and helped me out.

"Hey. Is everything ok?" Emmett asked me.

"Everything is fine. I guess I'm just a bit nervous. I barely know you or Esme and I'm coming home to meet your family. It's almost as if we are dating or something. I know we're not, but it's what it reminds me of." I said.

Emmett smiled at me. It was hard not to smile back at him. I blushed and looked away from him. I heard him let out a small chuckle. It was more musical than a guys should be. It was nice to hear it. I looked up at Emmett. He walked a step closer to me. He seemed to be very cautious as he walked close to me.

"Are you ready to go inside?" Emmett asked.

I nodded at him, feeling completely terrified. I wasn't sure what to expect with his family. The only ones I knew a little were Emmett and his mother. I hoped the rest of his family would be as nice as these two were. Emmett gently placed a hand on the middle of my back. He walked me in and let me go into the house first. I caught the scent of garlic and meat cooking. I also smelled the scent of herbs. From the smells, I guessed that garlic bread and possibly some sort of Italian dish. Maybe lasagna.

"That smells delicious. Am I correct in saying that your family is cooking garlic bread and lasagna?" I asked him.

He looked stunned. "Yeah. How could you possibly know that?"

"I can easily identify some smells like that. I've been told that I have a good sense of smell and can hear well too." I said.

Emmett smiled down at me. He led me up to the second floor where the kitchen and dining room was located. I stopped at the top of the stairs. My nerves were getting the better of me. I was thinking how nice it was that Esme and Emmett was to invite me here. I just wish I could've brought something to contribute.

Emmett turned to look at me. He looked concerned. He walked the two small steps back to me. He looked down to me. I assumed he wanted to tell me something or he was maybe waiting for me to say something. I wasn't sure which.

"I'm sorry. I don't think I should stay. I didn't realize you guys would be having dinner now. I think maybe I should leave." I said in a rush.

"No, no! It's ok. We wanted you to come here. We planned on you being here. Don't worry about. Everyone is really excited to meet you." Emmet told me comfortingly.

I gave a weak smile and nodded. Emmett held out his hand to guide me the rest of the way into the kitchen. I was really nervous. I took two deep breaths and calmed myself down. Emmett stopped just inside the kitchen and pulled me close to his side. This was more comforting than it probably should've been. I didn't fight because I needed the comfort.

"Hey everyone! I'd like for you to meet Brittlyn. We have a couple of classes together this semester." Emmett announced to the room at large.

"Hi everyone. It's nice to meet you all." I said shyly.

I looked at everyone and blushed. I have always been very awkward as I have met new people. Plus as I looked at everyone and how thin and perfect they were. I knew I was bigger than most people, but I felt even bigger compared to this family. It made me feel even more self-conscious. I didn't even realize I had scooted myself closer to Emmett.

"It's very nice to meet you Brittlyn. I am Carlisle and Emmett's adoptive father." The older blonde man said.

I nodded shyly to him.

"We have already met. But this is Edward and Bella, Jasper and Alice, and Rosalie." Esme said as Carlisle hugged her.

I smiled at her.

"All of us kids are adopted." Edward said.

"It's very nice to get to know you all. I know we have one class together. So it'll be nice to have some friends in class." I said, still feeling shy.

"I know we will become very good friends Brittlyn!" Alice said excitedly.

I couldn't help but smile at her. "I'm sure we will be Alice."

I turned to look at Emmett. I realized I was way closer to him than I needed to be. I took a couple steps away from him to give both of us some space. A breeze came through an open window and blew a very sweet scent to me. I don't where it came from. I did think how much I loved that scent. It reminded me of raspberries. Maybe a hint of honey or something was thrown in with it.

"Is there anything that I can help with? I feel so bad not knowing that I was being invited to dinner." I said.

"That's very nice of you to ask, but we are almost finished." Carlisle said.

I smiled and shook my head. Everyone was being so nice. The only one that didn't seem to like me so much was Rosalie. I looked at for a second to notice her glare at me. I looked down and started biting my lip. I crossed my arms and wondered why she didn't like me. I thought maybe it was because I traveled so far from home. Then I changed my mind. I don't know what the problem was, but I wanted to change her mind after I got to know her. It was finally time for dinner as I got lost in thought.


	5. Chapter 5

After dinner I requested to help with cleaning up in the kitchen. Esme happily accepted my help. I talked with her, Alice and Bella in the kitchen. We all got to know each other much better. They explained that Rosalie was just having a bad day today. I trusted them enough to believe that she really was having a bad day.

When we were done cleaning the guys walked in. Each to the person they seemed to spend the most time with. Emmett came over to me. He leaned up against the counter beside me. I smiled at him as he came over beside me. I felt like we were meant to be together.

"I'm sure you two have a lot you want to talk about. It's a good evening to go out for a little walk if you want." Alice said.

I looked to Emmett. He smiled and took me by the hand. He led me outside into their very big backyard. We then went into the woods to walk around. It was very quiet here. I liked it though. It reminded me of being a home.

"This is a beautiful place. I feel so at peace here. It reminds me of being back home." I told Emmett.

"It reminds me of being back home too. I really miss what I can remember of it." Emmett said.

"Were you young when you had to leave home?" I asked.

"You could say that." Emmett said.

I didn't push my luck. It seemed like it would be hard for him to talk about. I wanted to be on good terms with the whole family, but especially Emmett. I felt very strongly about Emmet. We didn't even know each other, but I could see us being very close. I stayed close to Emmett, following him through the woods.

"Do I hear a stream somewhere close by?" I asked, hearing some water moving in the woods.

"Yes. There is one we will be coming close to very soon." Emmett said with a smile.

We walked for a moment in silence. We finally came upon a small open area at the stream I heard. We had enough room to walk but still hear each other. I walked over close to the water and turned around to see everything that surrounded us. I was amazed at how beautiful it all looked. The beautiful greenery around us really did remind me of home to some extent. It mostly brought back the memories of the times I went camping with my grandparents during my childhood.

"You look absolutely stunning." Emmett said to me.

I looked at him where he still stood. I blushed and felt my face get very warm. I knew he was being nice, but he didn't need to go that far with it. I knew what I looked like and I was far from being "stunning" as he said it.

"Thank you for the compliment, but I'm not that pretty. I'm far from being so actually." I countered, looking down then to my left.

"That's just the thing. I think you are beautiful. I want eventually convince you that you are beautiful. In fact, I will prove it to you whenever you want." Emmett said.

I looked at him. "Why?" I asked.

"Because I want to get to know you. You are very special and I've never seen someone who is so beautiful like you. Not just on the outside, but inside too. I can see how you truly care about people. I want you to know that no matter what I will always be there to take care of you." He explained.

I looked at his face, trying to decide whether or not he was serious. I could tell that he was. He didn't seem to be playing any tricks on me. That I was happy about. I wanted to take care of him too. I wanted to spend every second I could with him. Learn what he likes and what he doesn't like.

Emmett placed a hand on my cheek. His hand was unusually cold, but it felt nice to my face. In fact his hand seemed to get warmer the longer he kept it there. The coolness soon faded and the warmth died down.

"I want to kiss you. But I won't do it unless you are okay with it. I will wait until you are ready for it. I want your full consent before doing anything romantic." Emmett told me.

I nodded. "I wouldn't mind it." I said rather quietly, as I looked down again.

Emmett leaned down to my height. He placed one hand on the small of my back. His other hand went to the back of my head. He pulled me a bit closer, then kissed my cheek. Then he pulled back just a few inches to look at me again. I look at him and smelled that raspberry and honey smell again. I think it was Emmett I was smelling. I didn't mind it though.

After waiting a few seconds, I leaned forward to make our lips meet again. I felt myself put a hand to his chest. It felt right to place it there. After that, Emmett pulled back again. He placed our foreheads together. He kept his eyes closed and so did I. I couldn't believe my first kiss with a guy just happened. I liked how it made me feel a little tingly when it was over.

"Thank you…" Was all Emmett said.

"Thank you Emmett. You have made me feel very special." I said, blushing and heart racing.


	6. Chapter 6

"You think you feel special. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world right now." Emmett told me.

I chuckled a bit at this. I hugged Emmett, hoping that this wasn't weird. It felt right. Especially after he wrapped his arms around me lightly. I placed my head on his chest. I could feel Emmett bring his nose down to my head and breathe in. It was a little different for someone to do that, but it was his own thing.

I looked up to the sky. It was hard to tell, but it looked as if it were getting dark. I couldn't tell through the cloud coverage that was coming on. Emmett looked up at the sky. He must've been thinking the same thing I was. He pulled away and walked me back towards his family's house.

"I hope you enjoyed everything this evening. I was a bit nervous about bringing you here. I wasn't sure how everyone was going to feel." Emmett explained.

I smiled as I walked behind Emmett. "I had a wonderful time Emmett." I said with a sincere voice.

I bumped into Emmett and fell down. I was stunned for a second before I looked up at him. Emmett stood as still as could be. He looked almost as if he were made out of stone. He seemed to hear something that I missed completely. I stood myself up so I could look where he looked. I wondered what he heard.

"Emmett? What is it?" I asked.

He didn't answer me. I was starting to feel a little worried. I looked around us in all directions. It was weird that he just suddenly stopped. I didn't want to stay here any longer than necessary now. Especially if there were some wild animal near us.

"Emmett? Will you please say something? I'm really scared now. You are really freaking me out." I told him.

I got closer to Emmett. I grabbed his arm and clung to it for some reason. I felt as if he'd protect me. I didn't know what he was going to protect me with, but there was this certain since of security I felt with him. I clung to Emmett as if my life depended on it. I waited on Emmett to do or say something to let me know that everything will be ok.

"We need to get back to the house with everyone. Something is close. I don't like it. I should have made sure it was safe here before bringing you out." Emmet said.

I stared at Emmett with confusion. "How would you have done that? It's not like you can just keep everything away."

Emmett half smiled at me. It wasn't a genuine smile at that. Emmett grabbed my hand and pulled me quickly through the green woods. We made it out and back to the house fairly quick. Maybe the path was shorter than I thought. Or we could've taken a different way out. I hadn't paid all that much attention when we were walking to the secluded area anyway.

When we made it to the big house, Edward was waiting with Alice outside on the long patio. Emmett asked me to go inside and wait for him there. I walked inside to wait on him. Esme and Carlisle met me at the patio door as I walked in. They greeted me with a smile.

"How was the walk with Emmett? Hope everything was ok?" Esme asked.

"It was just fine until we started coming back. Emmett apparently heard something that I didn't. We had to make a quick get away from whatever it was." I explained.

Carlisle and Esme shared a look. I wondered why and only smiled when they looked back at me. They smiled back, probably hoping that I didn't see the look they shared. Maybe there was something special about Emmett that I didn't know about. I didn't care though.

"Emmett hasn't ever taken anyone to his special are in the woods. None of us can figure out where it's at either." Carlisle said.

"We don't want to ruin it for him, but we are and have been concerned about him for a while. He has been kind of lonely lately. Ever since he first saw you though, we have noticed small changes in his mood. Even this evening his mood has improved greatly." Esme said.

"I understand completely. I would feel the same way if it were my child acting like that. Emmett seems like such a sweet guy and you guys have done well with him." I said with a smile.

They smiled back at me. I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket. I pulled it out to what I had missed. I noticed that it was getting late. I saw the missed call from my mother. She'd been waiting for me to call and tell her good night for a few hours. I keep forgetting that I'm on a time that's a few hours behind back home.

"Is there somewhere I can go to call my mother real quick?" I asked.

That's when I felt a hand on my left side. "You can make the call from my room." Emmett said to me.

"Thank you." I said.


	7. Chapter 7

Emmett walked me up to his room on the second floor. It was the first room on the right down the left hall. His room was extremely neat for a college kid, let alone it being a guy's room. I remember my brother's room always being a mess.

Emmett left me alone with a smile to think about. It was often hard to believe he was college kid because there were things about him that made him seem younger than he was. After he closed the door and I was sure he wouldn't be listening, I redialed my mother's number.

"Finally! I thought you were never going to call me back!" Mother screamed at me through the phone.

"I'm sorry mother, but-" I started before being interrupted.

"I don't want to hear any of your excuses! I will not tolerate this kind of thing little missy." Mother said sternly.

"Mother, I'm not giving you any excuses. I'm trying to tell you I'm sorry." I said.

"Good. Now what was it that kept you from answering my call and calling me back immediately?" She asked.

I debated on what I should tell her. I decided on the truth because it was easier to try and deal with the after math that way than to lie to my mother and the family that has been so kind to me this evening. I prepared myself for what was about to come at me through the phone.

"Mother I've been hanging out with a friend this evening. He and his mother, who also happens to be my art professor, asked me to their home for dinner. I accepted so I could get out and make some friends. The boy and his adopted siblings were all here and it was fun." I explained.

I waited. Nothing. I was confused. I looked at my phones screen twice to make sure neither of us had hung up. We were still connected and it didn't sound like the phone had been dropped. I waited another few seconds before trying to talk again.

"Mother? Are you ok?" I asked.

I waited again for her response. There was a sudden burst of laughter that came over the phone. I pulled back for a second. This was new and it surprised me a little. It made me feel a little scared at what was coming next.

"Oh that was so funny. I know you wouldn't dare go to a boy's house if you didn't know him. Let alone if you didn't ask me first. You are such a silly girl!" Mother said.

"I'm not joking though mother. I'm still at their house right now. I just wanted to get to know some of the kids I have class with. This one group from my Monday morning class happen to be siblings and their mother just happens to be one of my professors. I wanted to be nice and accept their invitation to dinner." I told her.

"You know how I feel about this. You either tell the boy right now that nothing will ever happen or we will not ever be helping you again!" Mother yelled.

"I'm not going to do that mother. I'm not going to be rude to this family."

"Then don't expect any help from your family any more. If you want to act like a big girl, then do it! Go get a job and see what it feels like to be independent!"

The phone clicked off. I pulled it away from my head and was prepared for some emotion to take over. I couldn't decide if I felt more confident or if I felt more upset. It was a good mixture of both. I didn't want the family downstairs to see me all upset though.

I was deciding on whether or not to let myself cry. I know I would feel better if I could. I also know that it would be really weird for me to cry at this family's house. After a few minutes of debating, I decided to just hold it back until I was sure to be alone. I walked out of the bedroom and composed myself as I went back downstairs to see the family.

When I walked down to the bottom of the stairs, everyone was gathered there. I looked around at the faces that suddenly stared up at me. I flushed red in my cheeks and felt the heat rise immediately to them. I stopped short and looked down to my feet.

"I wanted to thank you all for such a wonderful evening. Dinner was delicious and I really enjoyed our walk this evening Emmett." I said, careful not to think of anything specific of the place he took me.

"You are welcome! Why don't you stay here with us? We'd be more than happy to provide you with the clothes you need." Esme offered.

"I couldn't impose on you like that. Plus I don't know how well the clothes you guys have would fit me. I think maybe I should go back to the dorm." I tried to convince them.

Everyone looked to each other. Then they looked at Emmett. Emmett looked at them, then up to me. I was prepared for an argument. Or at least I thought I was any way. I waited a moment for him to speak.

"Brittlyn, I really have to insist on you staying here. I'd really worry about you staying at the dorms alone. Plus it would be silly to drive there and back again. I would let you use my bed and you could use one of my shirts to sleep in. Please stay." Emmett said.


	8. Chapter 8

In that moment, I saw true concern in Emmett's face. I knew in that moment that I could trust him. I was still a little unsure of his family, but if Emmett had been with this family long then I'm sure they must be the same way. I was feeling very tired anyway and didn't think I'd be able to argue for very long. I thought about this a moment. I didn't want to put them out, but I didn't feel right staying either. I finally decided on something that might work.

"Why don't I call a friend to come pick me up? I'm sure they wouldn't mind and I wouldn't be putting you guys out." I suggested.

"Are you sure you'd want to do that though? We'd all worry about you all night long." Esme said.

"I'm sure. I'd feel terribly guilty for imposing on you like that. And I don't know you guys well enough to feel comfortable staying with you yet." I explained. I hoped it didn't hurt anyone's feelings by saying this.

Everyone looked a little hurt for a moment, but put on a brave face. Maybe I had hurt their feelings by suggesting this. I wasn't trying to, it's just that I was raised to not impose on people. My parents would have been ashamed or disappointed in the very least if I had been the kind of person to impose on others.

"We will respect your decision then. We just hope that you will be safe. Please tell us when you get back safely." Carlisle said.

"I would love to but I don't have any of your numbers to do so." I said.

"Let me give you mine then." Emmett said as he put his hand out for my phone.

I handed it to him. I was certainly sure that he could handle finding out how to add his number to my phone after I put my passcode in. When he handed it back to me, I texted Jessalyn to see if she'd come to pick me up. She said yes and asked for an address. I asked for an address and was given one to type in.

A little while later a car pulled up to the house. A minute later there was a knock at the door. Carlisle had went to answer it. Jessalyn was standing there. When the door opened up, she waved and smiled at Carlisle. She told him that she was here to pick me up.

I grabbed my school bag from beside the door and greeted Jessalyn. She smiled at me and could barely contain herself. I rolled my eyes and kept in the sigh that so desperately wanted to escape my mouth. I turned and smiled at the Cullen's.

"Thank you all for such a wonderful evening. Dinner was delicious and I had so much fun getting to know you all." I said.

"It was our pleasure Brittlyn. We hope that you will come back very soon." Esme said politely.

"I will. Goodnight everyone." I smiled and waved to them.

On my way out, I noticed Jessalyn's staring. I rolled my eyes again. I grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door with me. She seemed very dazed by the Cullen's. I understood that they were beautiful people, but didn't she know that staring wasn't nice? I closed the door as we left the house. Jessalyn seemed to come back to reality.

"Oh my gosh! Why were you here?!" She asked excitedly.

"They invited me to have dinner with them. And by they I mean Emmett, the bigger guy, and his adoptive mother Mrs. Cullen. They heard me talking to my mother after art today and wanted to know if I would like to come eat with them." I explained.

Jessalyn squealed as we got into the car. I never actually had anyone squeal over something like that before. It was another new experience for me. I wondered if this was even a normal thing or if Jessalyn picked this habit up from some bad chick flick. That's the only time I'd ever seen a girl squeal over a friend spending time with a boy and his family.

"So it was like a date kind of thing? But it was like, you getting to meet his family before you even start to date. You are so lucky!" Jessalyn said.

She started driving back to the dorms. This was really starting to turn into a bad chick flick. I hated watching those kinds of movies. It bothered me that they always stereotype young girls like that. It was sort of true to an extent I guess, but we have other interests other than talking to each other about our guy interests.

"It wasn't a date. They were just trying to be nice and I was trying to be nice. It happens." I explained.


	9. Chapter 9

"Alright if you say so." Jessalyn said.

"Can we just drop it please? He isn't interested in me like that. I know you think he probably is, but I don't see how he could be." I said.

"Are you kidding me? You are so pretty!" Jessalyn told me.

"Pretty ugly you mean. No guy has ever been interested in me. Not romantically anyway. The only guys who like me even as a friend are gay. Which they are some of my nicest friends if I'm being at all honest. But someone like Emmett, who is built and nice and cares about people at large, does not like me." I told her.

She didn't say anything for a minute. Maybe she finally got the picture. I knew I could never land a guy like that in a million years. I'd love to get a guy like him. I day dream about a guy like him falling for me on a daily basis. The fact was, I just knew it would never happen in my life.

"Why do you think you'd never get someone like Emmett?" Jessalyn asked me.

"Do you really need me to tell you? Do you really want to hear my answer? I mean it's not like it's not obvious." I said.

"I really want to know why you think you won't get someone like him. What is keeping you from thinking that you can't get him?" She asked.

"It's because I'm not beautiful enough. Hell! I'm not even pretty enough for a guy like him. Would I like to be with a guy like that? Yes, because he is handsome and sweet. Will I ever ask him out? No, because I know I will be rejected. I'm not pretty, I'm not smart, I'm not confident and I am not special in anyway whatsoever. That's why I _KNOW_ I won't get him." I ranted to Jessalyn.

She didn't say anything again. I hope she finally realized why I never have a chance with guys. All the things I said about myself were true. Jessalyn was the exact opposite of me. She had beauty, smarts, confidence and she was unique in her own way. I knew I didn't have any special talents or anything else to offer. I was destined to be alone. I have realized this a long time ago and have come to accept that.

"You are wrong you know." Jessalyn spoke as she stopped the car.

"Sure I am. Listen, thanks for coming to get me. Here. Take this as some gas money. I'll see you later." I said, handing her fifteen dollars.

"Thanks. Any time for my new bestie." Jessalyn said with a smile and a wink.

I half smiled back before getting out of the car. I walked into the dorm building and had my school ID ready. I handed it to the guy running the front desk tonight. He handed it back after he signed me in. I told him thanks and to have a nice night. I went over and pushed the button for the elevator. The doors opened and I pushed the button for the fourth floor. Once I got there, I walked three doors down to my room and went in.

As soon as I walked in I noticed a funny smell. I looked around for a second. It didn't take long to notice a guy sitting on my roommate's bed. I wasn't sure, but I think this was her boyfriend. I'm pretty sure she told me his name was Greg. I looked at him and he stared back.

"Hi. My name is Brittlyn. Where is Kasey?" I asked.

"Kasey was called out for a little while. Said she had to run home to get some stuff from her parents place. She left about ten minutes ago. My names Greg." He told me.

"Do you know when she'll be back?" I asked.

"No. I do know I am very attracted to you right now though. I'd love to get to know you a little better." Greg said, flashing a devious smile.

I was starting to feel uneasy about him being here. I didn't know whether to go get help or not. I didn't want my roommate to be pissed at me because I got her boyfriend thrown out of the dorm. Also I didn't want to be left alone with him either with the way he was acting or the way it smelled in here. I only hoped Kasey would be back soon.

That's when I went to my little chest of drawers to pick out some pajamas to wear and some new underwear to put on. As I was distracted by this, Greg had come up behind me. He put his hands on my hips and started pressing me against the dresser. I also felt him press his nose to my hair. I could hear and feel him smelling it.

I tried pushing him away, but he only fought to keep me pinned up against the dresser. He whispered for me to be a good girl and he wouldn't take long. I felt horrified at what was about to happen. He had slipped a hand up my shirt. His other hand was working m pants and underwear down enough for him to rape me. Luckily before he could get too far with it Kasey walked in.

"Greg, what the hell are you doing to Brittlyn?!" She half screamed in horror.

My face must have mirrored how she felt. She looked at me and then went for help. Greg was quick to zip his pants up before he stuck his hand down my pants to feel me in another place. Before he could finish I was crying and Kasey had come back with help. An older lady who happened to be in charge of our floor was in the doorway in front of Kasey. This older lady had ran towards Greg to knock him down.

It worked too. He fell over like a ton of bricks. I was freed from him. I ran over to Kasey in hopes that I could just be away from Greg. Kasey stared at me. I could see she wanted to hug me and I allowed it by hugging her first. I hoped she'd break up with this guy and learn leave him alone. The lady that came to help took Greg down to the front desk, or tried to, but he broke free of her grip and ran off.

Over the next few days, we were told that not only campus police were keeping an eye out for Greg, but so weren't the city police. I hoped that they'd catch him soon. I kept my mace ready at all times in case he tried to come out of hiding to attack or anything. I was so nervous about it that I was barely able to focus on my school work. I didn't even talk to anyone after class since that night.

A couple of weeks had passed since the incident. I hadn't completely forgotten it, but it was in the back of mind and was nearly gone. I had focused more on my school work and was trying to pay attention in class. I was so focused that I was usually one of the first people to leave when class was over.

Although on Wednesday I did have a late class. It started at about six in the evening. It didn't end until nine at night. It was a religious studies class. I was always the last one before the professor to leave that class. I would normally call and talk to my mother as I walked home from this class, but ever since we fought when I was at the Cullen's home, I hadn't talked to her. I didn't even get my mace out because I wasn't thinking about the possible dangers that could've been out. I was too preoccupied by the assignment we were given for next week's class.

I felt two big arms wrap around me. One was around my waist while the other was around my neck. I was terrified and had an accelerated heart rate. I didn't know who had me and I was frozen. In this moment I thought I would possibly be dying. I only wished if I were dying that this man would do it quickly so I didn't feel a single thing.

"Hello beautiful. Remember me?" The man asked.

It took me a moment to realize it was Greg. Where did he come from? Why did he grab me of all people? I was a little confused as to why he was grabbing. Then I realized that he had me for one reason. The thoughts that I had pushed to the back of my head had come to the forefront. Greg was about to rape me.

"Yes." Was all I could say.

"Good. Do you remember the unfinished business that we have?" He asked.

I nodded. This was it. I was finally going to be raped. I was going to be ruined for anyone ever. Not that I ever had much of a chance beforehand, but now I knew I was never going to find anyone. I wished I were dead instead of taking this.

Within a matter of ten minutes, Greg had assaulted me. He managed to take full advantage of me and I couldn't do anything but take it. When he was done, I laid there until he was gone. He told me not to tell anyone of this or else he'd come back for more. I thoroughly believed him. I would never tell anyone about this.

When I was sure that he was gone, I got up to fix my clothes and hair. I wanted everything to seem normal to those who were going to see me. I picked up my book bag and started walking in the direction or my dorm. I was so horrified and so flustered by what happened I wouldn't have noticed anything else around me. My brain had switched to cruise control. I was able to get back to the dorm, get signed in and get up to my room before I even realized I was there.

I came to when Kasey said my name.

"Brittlyn, are you ok? You don't look so well." She said.

"I am fine." I said in a hoarse voice.

When I heard myself speak I didn't even sound convinced. I was not fine and I was on the verge of hysterics. I didn't and couldn't have a breakdown in front of Kasey. I couldn't worry her. It would frighten her too much.

"He just got to you didn't he?" She asked with wide eyed horror.

I nodded as tears broke over the edges of my bottom lid. I blinked and immediately fell to the ground. I had finally processed in that moment what had really happened to me. I knew this wasn't going to help me with Emmett.

Emmett. I hadn't spoken to him since I was with him that night. I hadn't really even spoke to his mom. I made the decision then to avoid him altogether now. I couldn't let him touch me after what happened tonight.

Once I had finally calmed down, I noticed Kasey had brought me help. It was the same lady as a few weeks ago. She had asked me what happened. I told her as little as possible that would be helpful to her. She said she would write out a report and send it to the police as soon as she could. I nodded and stood up. I went to get some pajamas and underwear. I had to go shower because I felt disgusting. I needed to scrub my skin as much as I possibly could to get clean again. I was truly ruined.


	10. Chapter 10

It was Thursday morning and I felt like staying in bed. I had experienced the most traumatic time of my life. It was hard enough to deal with no more contact with my family and moving from home to go to school. Now this was piled on top of it all.

I dragged myself up out of bed. I didn't want to, but wanted to take my mind off of the horrible memories of last night. I still remember everything so clearly. Every touch, every breath. Everything was still so fresh. I only had one thing to help me even keep it together a little. It was the fact that I knew my chances of becoming pregnant were slim to none. I had been on birth control for a while to help regulate my period because it was so weird that I would often go three months at a time without having one.

After I got myself dressed, I was careful not to touch anyone because I still felt horribly dirty. I was still jumpy too. It was difficult to be around people now. I tried to ignore it as much as possible. Hopefully I wouldn't break down today during class. I had spent the better part of last night crying.

I walked across campus to class. I went to my art history class. When I made it to class most seats were already taken. I somehow forgot that Emmett and the rest of his family were in the class. And their mother taught it. Great. I sat down as far away from them as possible. I didn't really feel like talking to any of them.

Esme had started class. I took notes as she did the lecture. Towards the end of class the lecture had moved towards nude art. I could feel myself starting to hyperventilate. I did my best to block out any image from my sexual assault last night. It finally got to the point where I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed my stuff and ran out of the room crying. The class wasn't even over and I just left without any explanation.

I had barely made it down to the first floor of the building before I had to sit down under a nearby tree. I put my head between my knees and let the tears fall. I felt horrible. All this was my fault. I should have never come here. I just thought it'd be better if I did so I could get away from home. I heard students coming out of the building. I'm guessing my art class had been dismissed.

That's when I felt a hand touch my arm. I jerked back instinctively. I looked up to see who had touched me. I was terrified by being touched now. It was obvious that others could see how terrified I was because when I realized who touched me I had to get up and quickly walk away. I couldn't let Emmett or Esme see me like this.

It was hard enough to deal with this on my own. I couldn't let them see me like this. Emmett had caught up to me fairly quick. He had a longer leg stride so no wonder he caught up to me so quickly. I didn't look at him or speak for that matter. I couldn't because I knew what I'd sound like. Emmett quickly stepped in front of me so we could talk.

"I know something is wrong with you. I want to help you. My whole family does, but you have to trust us that we will help you." Emmett said in a low voice.

"I do trust you. I trust all of you. I've just been so busy lately and I've had a lot on my mind with school. Plus I can't bother you and your family with my problems." I said with a husky voice.

"I know it's more than just school bothering you. We haven't talked in nearly a month. Please talk to me." Emmett practically begged.

"I'm sorry Emmett, but I can't. I'm ruined! Things have happened to me and I can never forgive myself for the things I brought upon myself!" I said with tears streaming down my face.

I looked down and went to walk around Emmett. I wanted to get away from him so he didn't have to be disgraced by my mere presence. I was a disgrace to everyone now. I didn't even have to tell Emmett what happened to me and he still saw that something was wrong.

Emmett stopped me. He was very careful about touching me. He didn't really even touch me, but I still flinched away from him. He was even more careful with his actions now. He moved a strand of hair away from my face and neck. He had this look on his face that made me certain he wasn't going to hurt me. He looked at my neck and apparently saw something that I didn't.

"You are very badly bruised. What happened?" He asked me a little more sternly this time.

I looked down. I debated on whether or not it'd be worth it to tell him. I figured it wouldn't hurt because I've already isolated myself since I've been here.

"Well the night that I came back to the dorm I was assaulted to a degree. And last night I was raped when I was going back to my dorm from class by the same guy who assaulted me." I explained, looking anywhere but at Emmett.

There was a deep growling noise. It wasn't very loud but it sound very close nonetheless. I looked around to see if anyone else had noticed this noise. Apparently it was only me. I peeked through my lashes at Emmett to see that he was very mad. I could only think that he was mad at me. I didn't know who else he could've been mad at.

"Why didn't you call or text me for help?" He asked in a fairly angry tone.

"I didn't want to bother you and couldn't think of it. You didn't need to see me like this anyway. I'm not worth it at all. I got what I deserved." I said on the brink of tears again.


	11. Chapter 11

"You are worth everything to me. You are worth more than my own life as far as I'm concerned." Emmett told me.

"That's very sweet of you, but I'm really not. I will never be worth it to anyone." I said, finally breaking down.

"Don't say that. I know for a fact that you are worth it. Will you give me a chance to prove it to you? I will do whatever I can to make sure that you are happy and healthy." Emmett said.

"I- I guess… I could." I said with utter shock.

"Good. I'd like to start by taking you to my place again. Since my father is a doctor, I'm sure he could check everything out. You know, make sure everything is ok." Emmett offered.

I nodded. My throat was starting to hurt too bad for me to talk much more. He held out a hand for me to take. I was a little scared to at first, but I don't think that he was going to hurt me. So I placed my hand in his. He was wearing gloves and a black jacket today. It fit well with the weather since it seemed to stay so cold here all the time.

We walked over to where his family was waiting for him. When they saw me coming, they started to smile. I smiled back at them. Even Rosalie gave a half genuine smile to me. This surprised me after how she greeted me that night at the house when I was there. I thought maybe she hated me. Now she seemed to like me or at least half like me anyway.

"Hello Brittlyn. How are you today?" Esme asked.

"Mom I don't think this is a good time to talk about it." Emmett told her.

"Why?" She asked.

"It's ok Emmett. I don't mind her asking. I've been better Professor Cullen. I was uhh… I was raped last night here on campus. I was assaulted the night I came back here from your and your husband's home. Emmett said he might be able to give me a check-up or something to make sure that I'm ok." I explained.

That's when I got a hug from Rosalie. I don't know why, but this surprised me. I didn't think she'd be this friendly. It fit her nicely though. When she pulled back, she looked as if she were almost in tears over something. I didn't know whether or not I should ask. I didn't want to be rude, but it was mostly the surprise of it all.

"I'm sorry that had to happen to you. I know exactly what it feels like to be raped by someone you are familiar with." Rosalie said.

"Really?" I asked with shock filling my voice and covering my face.

"Yes. Carlisle is the one who helped me. He then adopted me shortly after." Rosalie said.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I mean you are so much more beautiful than I am. Which is probably why it happened to you. It doesn't excuse it, but still." I said.

Everyone giggled a little at my statement. After that exchange, we started walking towards the Cullen's vehicles. They brought two for everyone to fit in. Half of them went home in one vehicle. I went with Emmett, Esme and Rosalie. I think they were the three that I was becoming the closest to in this family. It was nice to know that I was quickly gaining some friends here. I was going to need it.

A little while later we made it to their home. The first night I was here I didn't realize exactly how big the house was. Now that I got to see it during the day time, it seemed much bigger than necessary for a family of this size. I guess with a husband who was a doctor and a wife who taught at a college, they were bound to save up enough money to afford this house. I just wonder how they could've saved it all up and sent these kids to school. It seemed to unrealistic to me. Maybe they managed to get these kids here on scholarships and grants alone.

Emmett got out and held the car door open for me. As soon as I got out, he closed it gently. I waited for him. I watched him closed the car door. As he shut it I managed to look at him. I looked down to his butt and got distracted by it. It seemed to perfect to be real. He turned around and smiled at me, catching me staring at him. I blushed a bright red, smiling and looking down. Emmett came beside me. He seemed hesitant and waited for me.

I felt a little more comfortable. I took a step closer to him. He took that as a good sign. I could've swore I heard him chuckle. He put his hands in his pockets. I'm almost certain he wanted to put an arm around me. I don't think he wanted he wanted to push his luck with me. I was just glad that he didn't want to push me into anything.

"Are you sure you feel comfortable enough for this?" Emmett asked.

I nodded. "I think I can handle it. I just hope this isn't too weird for your father."

"It'll be fine. I know he won't care to help you if it means making sure that you are ok." Emmett explained.

"Your family is really nice. I do have a question for you though." I said.

"What kind of question?" Emmett asked with a straight face.

"Well, the first day I saw you and your family I noticed Rosalie glaring at me. She glared at me again the night I came to have dinner with your family. But today she smiled, hugged and actually talked to me. What happened to change her mind about me?" I asked.

"Well, Rosalie has had a hard life. She has went through some things that really messed her up. Carlisle, my adoptive father, saved her before things got any worse. This was not long after he met Edward, one of my brothers, and Esme. After that Carlisle kind of helped me and then came Jasper and Alice, then Bella. Finally Nessie and Jacob joined our family and we haven't really split up since then." Emmett explained as we got to the steps of the over-sized house.

"That's amazing that he adopted all of you guys. It seems like it'd be so hard to support that many kids in college though." I thought allowed.

"Well let me just say that Carlisle and Esme are a little older than they appear. We all are." Emmett said.

"Well I sometimes physically feel much older than I am. Although I mentally feel a couple years younger than what I'm supposed to be." I said.

Emmett laughed a little. It was nice to see a guy like him smile like he did. Emmett had an almost childlike air about him when he was happy. I liked it. It felt good to be around someone who could be so happy like this. It gave me a chance to actually relax for a minute. A gust came through and gave me a chill. I looked around at the trees moving with the breeze and unthinkingly moved myself into Emmett's side to get warm.

He wrapped an arm around me and smiled at me being close to him. I looked up at him smiling down at me. I didn't realize how tall he was until he was towering over me. It was a little intimidating to have to look directly up, but him being so strong and having the muscle he did was nice. I looked down and blushed again.

"We better get you inside before you freeze to death out in this breeze." He said.

"It might be a good idea. I am a little chilly out here now." I said.


	12. Chapter 12

We walked inside the house. It was the same as I remembered it being. It was so cozy feeling on the inside. I enjoyed being in the comfort of a home like this. If I were being honest with myself, a lot of my friends lived in a home that reminded me of this one. Not that their homes were as big as this one, but they were cozy. They were calm and the family seemed to love each other very much.

My home was never peaceful like this. Nothing was really. My whole life had been nothing but miserable. Every minute of every day was miserable. Everyone was always upset and constantly fighting. It would've been nice for someone to explain to me why that was. I never understood why my family couldn't just be happy for five minutes.

"Hello Brittlyn. How are you?" a happy and calm man's voice asked me.

I turned to see who it was. Carlisle was walking towards me and Emmett at the front entrance. I half smiled.

"I've been better. I think the last twenty-four hours has been an all-time low point for me." I said.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Carlisle said.

"Actually that's why she's here Carlisle. I insisted she come to you for some help." Emmett told him.

"What exactly is the problem and how can I help with it?" Carlisle asked.

Emmett looked over to me. I think he was wanting me to explain what happened and tell Carlisle why I needed his help. It was going to be a little difficult because it was still so fresh to me. I looked to Carlisle and explained what exactly happened. I told him that he was under no obligation to do anything.

"It's really no problem. I have my own little office with some equipment here at the house. We can go and check you out now and see if there are an issues." Carlisle said.

He led the way to his office on the ground floor. I wondered why he'd keep his office on the ground floor. Did he have many guests that had accidents? Or did his family need this kind of care? Either way I guess it was none of my business or I didn't need to know.

Carlisle had asked Emmett to wait with the rest of the family why he did the examination. Emmett smiled at me before leaving to give us some privacy. Carlisle gave me a hospital gown to change into to make things easier for him. Oddly I didn't feel as nervous or scared about this part.

When Carlisle finished setting things up and I was ready, he brought out a clipboard. He needed to know some basic information so that he could do a proper analysis of everything. Carlisle had checked my neck and mentioned the bruising that was there. He said it was looking a little on the bad side, but I shouldn't worry about it too much. Then he looked elsewhere. He mentioned that everything else was fine. Although he said there was minoring bruising elsewhere, I should still be careful and take it easy.

I planned on listening to his advice and not doing things to make it all worse. I thanked Carlisle for helping me and I would do whatever I could to repay him. He said it wasn't necessary. That seeing his son be happy just being friends with me was more than enough payment.

When we were about to walk out of his home office, my cell phone started to ring. Carlisle said for me to stay here and take the call. I thanked him and answered the phone. It was an officer from the station near the college campus. They were telling me that they finally caught Kasey's ex-boyfriend. They wanted me to know that he was going to be behind bars for a long time. I was so happy that I was crying.


	13. Chapter 13

I walked out of Carlisle's office. I thanked the officer before I hung up. It was nice to know I wouldn't have to worry about him bothering me anymore. I stood in the hall outside of the room I was just in. There was so much good news for me to celebrate. Emmett had rounded the corner and found me standing there staring, crying over what seemed to be nothing.

"What's wrong? Bad news?" Emmett asked.

"No actually. Today I have gotten some of the best news I could ever expect to receive." I said with tears rolling down my face.

"Then why are you crying?" He asked me.

"Because I feel so lucky to have a friend like you and your wonderful family care about me so much. It has really restored my faith in the fact that there are good people out there." I explained.

Emmett then hugged me. It took me by surprise, but I quickly warmed up to the feeling. I was quick to hug him back. I knew that this probably wouldn't last very long. We pulled back from each other and just stared for a minute. I couldn't be sure, but I think I could feel a real connection with him.

We walked down the hall and to the kitchen with the rest of his family. They were all waiting for us. They asked how things went. I told them the good news. I was clean and my assailant had been brought to justice. Everyone was so happy for me. They all asked if it'd be ok to hug me. I told them yes. I had to wonder if this was what it was like to be in a big happy family. If it was, I only wished I could be a part of it.

"Would you like to go for a walk again?" Emmett asked, after throwing an arm around me.

"Sure. Anywhere in particular in mind?" I asked him.

He smiled at me. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out the back door. I smiled at the thought of where we might be going. I didn't think of the specific place we were going to. I followed Emmett and went with him to his special place. Since there was still plenty of day light left, we could stay longer than the last time.

We went through the same way we did before. Emmett led the way. He held out his hand and I grabbed on to it, holding it tightly. We walked through the jade colored woods. I managed to trip just once the whole way. It was a new record for me. I managed to not make too big of a fool of myself this time. We finally emerged into the clearing that Emmett liked so well.

"Can I ask you something Emmett?" I asked.

"Sure. Ask whatever you like." Emmett said.

"Why have you shown me this place? Not a single person in your family knows about it and it doesn't seem like you want them to know. Why is that?" I asked.

Emmett looked straight ahead. He looked as if he were thinking really hard about how he was going to answer this question. I wasn't sure about how he was going to answer. I'm a little worried that he was going to give me some kind of outrageous answer that wouldn't even seem real.

"I brought you here because… Well because I really like you. You are just as special to me as this little sanctuary is. I'm careful not to tell my family about it because I don't want them following me out here. I like to have time to think things through when my mind starts getting to filled with my own problems. Now… Now I feel as if I can share problems with you. Not feel judged, have someone to talk my problems out with…" Emmett explained before trailing off.

I took in what he said. It brought up so many more questions for me. Why was I so special? What could he possibly see in me, an overweight freshman in college? I wasn't so unique and there definitely were many people who were more beautiful than I am. I couldn't possibly imagine what he'd want with me.

Unless… Unless he was planning on harming me the same way I was harmed last night. Was that what he meant? I let my mind go to that dark place. I could feel my heart beat race as soon as the thought entered my mind. I started sinking to the ground and scooting myself away because I was becoming afraid of what Emmett could do to me. I hoped that I was wrong about him. I hoped this was just an honest mistake.

Emmett looked at me from the shadows. I could see his face just a bit and it looked as if he were concerned about something. Maybe he was guessing that I figured out his plan. Maybe he really was concerned about me. I just watched him and waited for his next move.


	14. Chapter 14

"Brittlyn? What's wrong? I want to help you. I promise not to hurt you." Emmett said.

"You said I was special. That I am unique and that's why you brought me here. What I'm not sure about is why you think I'm so unique. Are planning on… hurting me? Like I was last night?" I asked him.

"Of course not!" Emmett said in a shocked tone.

"How can I be sure that you're not lying to me?" I asked, still unsure of if he were telling me the truth.

"Because I really like you. I know it might be to son to tell for you, but you are special to me for this one reason." Emmett said.

Something about what he was saying comforted me. I wasn't entirely sure if it was what he saying that comforted me so much, or just how he said it. When Emmett spoke about me this way, there was a calmness. A truthfulness to it that made me realize he could be the one for me. It calmed me enough to be able to stand again. I felt ashamed for the way that I just assumed he would possibly hurt me.

I looked down as I walked over to him. I looked up at him through my eyelashes. I could see the big smile on his face. I knew what I needed to say. I knew he'd be expecting it to after the way I started blushing when I looked at him.

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm just really skeptical when someone likes me. It's not something someone like me gets used to very often." I explained.

"You have nothing to apologize for. Especially after what happened to you last night. I promise you I am NOT going to do anything you don't want. I will respect you more than that bastard last night did. Just promise me you will stay with me as long as you can." He said with an urgency.

I nodded. "Of course Emmett."

I hugged him, with this very serious look on my face. I could feel that there was something important he was keeping from me. Something that must've been traumatic for him. It was something that must've kept to himself very often because I knew whatever love he felt came from this new family he had. Emmett kept his hug on me for a long time.

He let go of me. I looked at his face to see him still smiling. It was an infectious smile. I couldn't stop the smile that moved its way onto my face. Emmett wrapped one arm around me and kept me close to him. He had a great hug too, now that I was more aware of things. I wondered why Emmett decided to stay with this family although he didn't have any true connections to them now. He didn't need to be taken care of I don't think.

"Would you like to go on a date?" Emmett asked, interrupting my train of thought.

I looked up at him. I was baffled by the question. I never thought that I would actually ever be asked on a date before. It took me by surprise mostly because I never thought the day would come. I collected myself enough to finally give him an answer.

"Sure! When would you like to go on this date?" I asked.

"How about now?" He asked.

"Ok. I'm not really ready for a date." I said.

"Don't worry about that. Alice insisted on getting you some clothes to wear when you are here. She also insisted on buying other things you might need as far as personal care too." Emmett explained.

"She didn't need to do that. It is completely unnecessary. Plus how did she even know what size I wore?" I asked.

"You'd be surprised at how accurate she can be when she picks these things out. She can usually meet a person and look at them only to make some pretty good guesses about them." Emmett told me.

I accepted the explanation given to me and followed him back to the house. Alice and Rosalie greeted us at the door. I was quickly ushered up to a feminine looking room after Emmett whispered something to Alice. She smiled and it didn't leave her face the whole time she dressed me up. By the time she was done, I felt like a giant Barbie doll.

I looked at myself in the mirror to see how Alice had dressed me. I was wearing a dark blue dress that came down to my knees and the sleeves came down to my elbows and had a little flare to them. Alice managed to curl my hair a little and put enough makeup on that wouldn't make me look like a clown. She then brought out some heels to put on. I was the kind of person who shouldn't be wearing heels. I did it because I didn't want to be rude to a new friend.

"You look gorgeous!" Esme said as she walked through the door.

"You do look beautiful." Rosalie added.

"Wait until Emmett sees her! He'll be saying something about how she looks." Alice chimed in.

I blushed a deep red. "Thank you guys for all this. I'm sure it wasn't cheap and-"

"And nothing dear. This was a pleasure for us all. Now let's take you down to Emmett." Esme said.

We walked back downstairs. Esme, Alice and Rosalie were in front of me. They were blocking any view of me from the guys. When they finally reached the bottom they went to the person they spent time with. Emmett was looking at his reflection making sure everything was in place. He finally turned around to look at me. He looked surprised or stunned. Maybe even shocked.

"Wow! You look…" He didn't finish his sentence.

"Doesn't she look nice?" Alice asked.

"You look more than nice. You look absolutely stunning." Emmett said.

I felt this sense of happiness flourish through my whole body. After that I felt this large amount of love pass through me. I don't know where that feeling came from, but I didn't care. I just went with it. I looked at Emmett and smiled at his compliment.

"Thank you Emmett." I said.


	15. Chapter 15

Emmett smiled at me and held out his hand for mine. In that moment I saw nothing but him. I was going to focus completely on him tonight. I couldn't promise him much right now, but I could promise that he'd be my everything. I could promise him that I'd do anything he wanted if he just gave me time.

"Are you ready to go beautiful?" Emmett asked.

"Yes." Was all I could manage to say.

I placed my hand in Emmett's and followed him to the car we were going to take. I was so excited for this and didn't know anywhere around here that was good to eat. I hoped that things would go well tonight because I really wanted things to go well with him.

After driving for a while, we finally arrived at the restaurant. It was a nice place that was small and looked like it would be a warm place to visit. I wondered what kind of food they have here. I was going to do my best to enjoy whatever it is they had.

"This looks interesting. I feel like maybe we are over-dressed though." I thought aloud.

"Don't worry about it. We are dressed just the right amount for a place like this." Emmett answered my thought.

I looked at him and smiled. We both got out of the car and walked to the stairs that led into the building. When we walked in I looked around. I finally realized that this restaurant was an Irish pub. It had pictures and decorations hung up around on the walls along one side of the large and open area we were in. It also had a few book shelves against another wall and a stage close to what looked like a dance floor. We sat down at a table close to the stage and dancing area. There was a band setting up on the stage and people chatting happily around the place.

"Well hello there. Looks like a couple of new faces have finally come in." A waitress said as she came over to our table. She smiled at us as she spoke.

"Hi. We were looking for somewhere new to try and thought this place looked very interesting." Emmett told the waitress.

"Well you made a great choice then. My name is Colleen by the way. Either of you have and Irish in your family?" She told us.

"I may have some Irish in my family, but I'm not entirely sure." Emmett said.

"I have some Scotts-Irish on my mother's side of the family. Actually, if I'm right my great-great-great grandmother would've been Irish and married a full blooded Cherokee Indian man." I said, recounting the times my grandfather had explained this to me.

"Well, I think that's wonderful that you know that. Here are some menus for you. I will be back in a moment to get your drink orders." Colleen said to us.

I smiled and looked down at the menu in my hand at the drinks they had. Luckily they had sweet tea here. I decided on that before looking up to speak to Emmett. He was already staring at me. Or was he studying me. I couldn't be sure which. He seemed amused by me.

"So how did you know that far back in your family?" He asked.

"My grandfather- my mother's father- had told me about this several times before. I loved learning about my family's history whenever I could. I don't know how my grandfather remembered this for as long as he did, but his mind was very sharp his whole life." I explained.

"That is so great that you can remember that and you were interested enough to learn about it." Emmett said.

We sat there and talked for a few minutes before Colleen came back and asked what we wanted to drink. We both gave her our drink orders. She said she would get those put in and then come back later for food order. Emmett and I sat there talking for a while as we ate our food. We listened to the music too as different songs came on.

"So why did you decide to go to college in Alaska if you are from the East Coast of the main land?" Emmett asked.

"Mostly to get away from the hell that was home. Don't get me wrong I truly love my family, but sometimes they absolutely drive me up a damned wall with the way they are." I explained.

Emmett looked at me for a minute after I spoke. Maybe it was because he didn't remember much about his biological family that made him think about what I was saying. I'm sure he didn't understand what I was saying. Most people seemed to live in a happy home. I started eating and listening to the music again.

"Why did you agree to this date with me? We don't really know each other that well and somehow, after everything you have been through, have found it within yourself to trust me." Emmett said with a serious look on his face.

I thought about what he said. I did trust him. It was an unrealistic trust that I had in him. I couldn't even begin to explain where this trust was coming from. I somehow knew that he wasn't going to harm me. I didn't know how exactly to explain this to him.

"I came on this date with you because there is something about you that I trust. I can't explain where this trust is coming from, but it is there." I said.

Emmett smiled at me. It was a boyish smile that made him seem younger than he was. It made me like him a little more. I gave him that much more trust too. I hoped he understood how much trust I was putting into him.

Suddenly the group that was playing music started a song that sounded familiar. I knew it was something I had heard before. I thought about this really hard for a minute. I focused on the music and turned to see people get up to start dancing. I realized the song was Morrison's Jig. I adored the song and loved it so much. I, unfortunately, couldn't dance very well.

"Come on. I know this song well enough to teach you how to dance to it." Emmett said.

I smiled. I stood up with him. We went over to the dance floor. We joined in with a group of people who were dancing as well. I watched what Emmett did and tried to copy his moves. He was a better dancer than I thought he'd be. When the song ended we went back to our table. Our waitress had brought a box over along with a check.

"Hope you two had a great evening. And I hope to see you back here again soon." Colleen said.

"I'd love to come back again soon. Actually are you guys hiring? I am looking for some work and this seems like such a great place to work at." I said.

"Yes, we are hiring. Let me grab you an application." She said.

"Here is this. Take your time." Emmett said, handing her the check with enough money to cover the check plus a tip.

The waitress took it and went to the register. I grabbed a box and placed the remaining amount of my food in it to take back with me. I felt terrible for letting Emmett pay for the meal and I would pay him back for it.


	16. Chapter 16

Emmett and I walked out of the restaurant smiling and laughing. I had grabbed hold of his hand and stayed close to him. I did this unconsciously of course. I thought of how fun tonight was. I hoped that it could happen again soon just so we could have another date.

"So what did you think?" Emmett asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

"I thought that was probably the most fun I've had in a very long time. Thank you for such a wonderful night Emmett!" I said with a huge grin.

"The most fun you've had in while? Well I will have to top that again for our next date then." Emmett said.

"So there'll be another date then?" I asked.

"Of course there will be. I want to go on as many dates as we possibly can with you." Emmett said.

"Good because I'd love to go on as many dates as I can with you." I said.

Emmett smiled widely. It was good to know we were going on another date soon. I planned on asking for Alice's help again because she helped me to look gorgeous tonight. I wonder if she'd help me the next.

We got in Emmett's vehicle to go back to his place. It looked like it did that first night I was here. There were candles lit on the front walk going to the front porch. Maybe just so we could see better and not trip on any rocks in the way. It'd be my luck to get hurt and fall into a candle though.

"Emmett I really did have a lot of fun tonight. It restored my faith back in people just a little." I said happily.

"Well it's the little things that really count then." Emmett said.

I smiled. I had been debating on whether or not I should give Emmett a hug. I decided that if I didn't do it know then I never would. I put my arms around his waist. It was a gentle but firm hug. He hugged me back gently.

A breeze came through. I could smell something coming off of Emmett. It smelled nice. I wasn't sure what kind of cologne he was wearing, but I loved the smell of it though. That's when I felt him put his nose close to my hair and smell it. It felt a bit awkward, but I could stand it if this was as weird as it got.

"Come on in. You can stay with us tonight. It's late anyway and I'd really like to make sure you are safe." Emmett said in a gentle tone.

I nodded. "I'd like that. I feel safe just being with you."

Emmett led me inside. Alice and Rosalie met us at the front door. They probably heard us pull up to the house. Alice grabbed my hand and started jumping up and down. Rosalie rolled her eyes at her sister. It was very playful of course.

"Did Emmett ask you to stay the night? Please tell me you said yes." Alice said excitedly.

She looked like she was visibly shaking as she stood there.

"He did ask and I said yes. But I just want to make sure it's ok with your parents before we make this official." I explained.

Alice ran off. I have no idea what she was planning. I was almost too afraid to ask someone. Rosalie stood there and stared at me. She looked upset or maybe a little pouty. I couldn't decide what her mood was. She just seemed off somehow.

"Are you ok Rosalie?" I asked in a whisper.

"I'm not ok. Actually I'm a little… jealous." She said.

That's when Alice came back in with Esme and Carlisle. They both were smiling and greeted me by name. I did the same.

"Alice said you had something to ask us." Esme said.

"Yes. Emmett had asked me to stay here tonight. I said yes without thinking. Would you guys mind me staying?" I asked them.

"Of course you can. Our house is your house." Esme said.

"You are welcome to stay whenever you like and as long as you like." Carlisle added.

"Thank you. I appreciate that." I said.

Alice grabbed my hand and pulled me upstairs. Her hand felt unusually cold. I wondered why these guys felt cold so often. I followed Alice and Rosalie was behind me. My thoughts went back to what Rosalie had said. She openly admitted to feeling jealous. Who did she feel jealous of and why?

I didn't have anything for her to be jealous of. I certainly wasn't as thin as she was. She looked flawless. Perfect skin, perfect face, perfect everything. I basically had no family anymore and I don't think she'd want to date her adopted brother. So what was it? I just couldn't figure it out.

"I'm so excited! You will be staying in Emmett's room." Alice said as we entered Emmett's room.

"Then where will Emmett stay?" I asked.

"Well he insists on sleeping in the floor in case you need him." Alice explained.

"That's very sweet of him. He doesn't need to do that though. The bed is big enough for the two of us." I told Alice and Rosalie.

"You're not afraid of Emmett hurting you?" Rosalie asked.

"No. It's actually the opposite of that. I trust him. A lot." I explained.

I wanted to say that I loved him. I just didn't want to freak anyone out. Alice walked into this giant closet and brought out some pajamas, underwear and a bra for me. They were all in the perfect size. They were a little on the risqué side for me. But they were cute and I was going to wear them.

"Thank you. I love these. They are so cute." I said.

Alice smiled. "I'm glad you like them. Now put them on and Emmett will be up shortly."

Alice left. Rosalie stayed behind. I could see she was going to explain herself after what she said downstairs.

"I'm jealous of you. I'm jealous because you have found love. You have found someone who really cares about you. You obviously really care about him. I just hope you're happy with the decisions you will make." Rosalie said before leaving.

After she left, I stood there a moment. I thought about what she said. I was thinking more about the part where she said Emmett really cared about me. But she also said she hopes I'm happy with the decisions I've made. I am so far and I hope she meant well.

I walked into the bathroom so I could get cleaned up for bed. I changed into the pajamas that Alice handed me. They were so soft and comfortable to wear. When I finally finished changing, I wiped the makeup off my face and brushed my hair out. After I finished, I walked back into the bedroom. Emmett was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting.

"Hey. When did you get in here?" I asked, momentarily forgetting what I was wearing.

"Just a minute a go. I knocked but didn't get an answer. I had Alice see if you were sleeping or something. She said you weren't and that I could come in." Emmett explained.

He stared at me for a moment. He stood up and took a couple steps towards me. There was something different in his eyes. I think he was looking at me with a little lust in his eyes. That's when I remembered what I was wearing. I crossed my arms and bent one knee. I looked away from him, feeling a little embarrassed. I started blushing too as I thought about what I would like to do to him later. When the times right anyway.

"Do I look ok? I mean I could always sleep somewhere else or put something else on maybe." I asked Emmett.

"You look really good. Sorry to stare at you, but I've never seen someone look so good in just their pajamas." Emmett said.

I blushed again. I took the compliment. I met Emmett's gaze. I smiled at him and took a step closer. Emmett stayed where he was. He looked calmer than ever. I took another step closer. I was nervous in this around him, but I knew he betrayed my trust. I hugged him and laid my head on his chest.

"Thank you for being such a good person Emmett. I want you to know that. I think… I think maybe I really, really like you." I told him.

I heard his booming laugh. It rung in my ears for a minute. Then I smiled because it was a wonderful sound. I hugged him tighter. He wrapped his arms around me then pulled me back. He looked me straight in the eyes.

"I think I just may really, really like you to. Why don't we go to bed now?" Emmett asked.

I yawned before saying, "Sleep sounds so good right now."

We walked over to the bed. I rolled the covers down and turned the electric blanket on low so I could get warm. I didn't realize how cold I had actually got this evening. I got in bed and fell asleep in a matter of seconds after my head hit the pillow.


	17. Chapter 17

After a few weeks of going to classes, it was finally time for Thanksgiving break. I was in need of some time away from campus and in need of time with Emmett. My friends I had made are nice but have all but disappeared. Emmett and his family were some of the best people I knew.

They had invited me to come stay with them during the one week break. I was just turning in a paper before I started packing some of my own clothes. I had plenty of time to get packed. I wasn't expecting Alice until one thirty and it was noon. After finishing my paper and turning it in online, I grabbed my bag and packed a weeks' worth of clothes. Half the campus had cleared out since this morning.

A little while later I finished packing and grabbed a few last minute things. I went to the bathroom to freshen up. I ran a brush through my hair and put some lotion on my hands considering how dry they felt today. I left the bathroom and started down the hall to my room. Alice was standing outside my door waiting for me to answer. She turned to look at me. She smiled upon seeing me.

"Hey. I was starting to give up on you. Are you ready yet? Jasper is waiting downstairs with the car." Alice said.

"Just let me put my brush and lotion in my bag and grab it. Then we can go Alice." I told her.

"Good. Emmett is very excited for you to come stay with us this week." Alice said.

"I am too. I can't wait to see everyone again. It's going to be fun. I just hope I don't annoy everyone to death." I said with a playful eye roll.

Alice giggled at that. I placed my last couple of items in my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I looked around to make sure I didn't miss anything. Once I was positive, I turned to Alice. I told her I was ready to go. I grabbed my keys on the way out and locked the door. We went downstairs and I signed out at the desk in the lobby of my dorm.

We talked on our way out to the car. Alice smiled and giggled like she knew something that I didn't. She wanted to know if I wanted to do anything special over break. I told her I hadn't planned anything. I just wanted to spend time with Emmett and the rest of the family.

"Well I can't wait to see what happens this week. It will be so exciting for us all." Alice said just as we reached the car.

Jasper was standing there waiting for us. He held his arms open for Alice. She ran right into them. Alice looked like a dancer or fairy or something. She was light on her feet. Or at least she appeared to be. Alice kissed Jasper quickly on the lips. Jasper smiled at me.

"Hello Brittlyn. How are you today?" Jasper asked

"I'm good Jasper. How are you?" I asked.

"Doing just fine. Are you ladies ready to go?" He asked us both.

We nodded. Everyone got into the car. I placed my bag beside me in the back seat. I was so excited to be going back to this home. Although I had already been there for short visits several times in the past few weeks, it was going to be nice to be there this week. I would have some sort of a happy family atmosphere to enjoy.

In a short time we arrived at the house. I grabbed my bag out of the backseat and got out of the car. My excitement and happiness levels had went through the roof as soon as the house came into view. My heart felt like it was physically going to explode. I knew it was mostly due to the fact that Emmett was expecting me and I was going to spend the majority of my time with him. That's when, out of the corner, I saw Alice and Jasper smile.

We all started walking inside. Before I got to the porch steps Emmett ran outside. He picked me up in a big bear hug and spun me around. I heard him laugh and knew he'd be smiling. I held on tightly to him. He finally stopped and I was feeling a little dizzy as he set me on the ground again.

"Hey babe! How are you?" Emmett asked excitedly.

"Hey Em. I'm fine. A little dizzy after spinning around like that." I told him with a huge smile.

He grabbed my hand and walked inside with me. We chatted quietly as we walked to his room. I sat my things down on a bench at the end of the bed. I stretched for a second and turned to look at Emmett. His smile hadn't left his face all the way up here. Suddenly there was a frown on it.

"Emmett? What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Well I have something I want to talk to you about. It's really important too." Emmett said in a serious tone.

I went to sit on the bed. I patted on a spot beside me. I was frowning, hoping that this wasn't something horrible. Emmett came over to sit down beside me. I waited for him to speak. A couple minutes passed and the silence was killing me.

"Emmett, if you're terminally ill or something I need to know. I promise I'm not going to leave you. I will stay by your side no matter what happens." I explained while I rubbed his back.

He looked at me. "Don't freak out when I tell you this. I don't even know if you'll believe me on this." He said.

"Whatever it is-" I started.

"I'm a vampire Brittlyn. I know this doesn't seem real, but it's true. I will prove it to you however I can." Emmett said.


	18. Chapter 18

I thought about what he was saying. How could this even be possible? Vampires weren't real. They were just made up beings. Right? I could tell if Emmett was trying to joke with me because his expression didn't even falter.

"What?" I asked.

"I know what you must be thinking, but I promise I'm not lying. I won't hurt you. I have learned that you are my mate. My one and only true love. I have vowed to myself that no matter what I will be there to protect you. Even if it means protecting you from myself." Emmett explained to me.

I stumbled trying to get off the bed. I couldn't deal with this vampire stuff. It had nothing to do with whether or not I loved Emmett. Of course I loved him. How could I not love him? As I got over to my bag I stopped. I started to feel the tears on my cheeks. They streamed down my face. It was only because I realized Emmett was just telling me he loved me. I started smiling.

"Emmett, I am going to need just a little time to process this." I said.

"I understand and you can take as long as you need." Emmett told me.

I walked back over to him. I climbed on the bed and made my way over to him. I kissed him as I sat on his lap just a little bit. I placed a hand on the nape of his neck just as I pulled back. I needed to look at him in the face. I wanted to watch his expression.

"I love you Emmett." I said with a smile.

"Good, because I love you too Brittlyn." Emmett said.

He pulled me in for a hug. It felt nice to be so close to him. I knew that I'd need time to figure out all this vampire stuff. I also knew I could trust Emmett. He wouldn't pressure me into doing something I wasn't ready for.

"So what would you like to do while we are on break?" Emmett asked.

I thought for a moment. I was already with the guy that I loved. There weren't many things I wanted to do. There were a couple things that did come to mind for me though. I wasn't so sure that Emmett would want to try this.

"Well there is one thing I can think of that I'd like to do." I said shyly.

"What would that be?" He asked.

"How do you feel about playing some video games?" I asked him.

"I love playing them. I actually have a couple of consoles hooked up downstairs. We can dance or do whatever on them." Emmett said.

I smiled at him. This was going to be such a fun week with the family.


	19. Chapter 19

A few days passed by. I was growing tired of just playing the games Emmett had and was going a little stir crazy. I managed to talk with everyone in the whole house at least three times a day. I had also learned so much about being a vampire. The does and don'ts weren't so hard to remember. I learned that there were some leaders in the vampire world. They had actually paid the Cullen's a visit at one point when they lived somewhere else with Bella after she was turned. She and Edward had a child while she was human and the child was dating an old friend of Bella's who happened to be a shapeshifter.

"Emmett. What would you like to do tomorrow?" I asked as I was getting ready for bed in the bathroom.

"I thought Alice asked you to go shopping with her tomorrow?" Emmett asked.

"She did. I'm just thinking if this trip is going to be as quick as what Alice said, then we might have time to go on a date tomorrow night if you want." I said.

"Yeah, we can do that. I'd enjoy a date night. Seems like we haven't been on one for a while. I'll get everything ready for us while you guys are gone." Emmett said.

I smiled at him as I came out of the bathroom. I hopped into bed and crawled under the covers. I was especially cold tonight. I knew Emmett and the family was in need of going to feed soon. I told them that if they wanted to go while I was sleeping then I'd be fine here. It wouldn't be very exciting with me.

They all agreed and said it shouldn't take any longer than an hour or so. I had went upstairs with Emmett after that. Emmett had kissed me goodnight before I slipped into unconsciousness. I dreamed of many things that night. Most of the dreams consisted of Emmett of course. There was this one in particular that stood out to me. It was of the whole family.

The dream was horrifying. The whole family was holding on to a human. One's that I had seen in my life. I couldn't see the faces of the bodies that were being held though. At first I was far away from the family. Then I became close to them. The bodies of the drained humans belonged to my family and friends.

I was instantly horrified and frozen with fear. All the Cullen's looked at me. They saw the fear I held in my face. Emmett was the first one to step forward from the group. He had let go of the body he was holding. He stalked towards me. He looked very threatening in his stance to attack. He made his way over to me quickly. Before anything could happen, I woke up.

I was laying there in bed. My eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the light coming in from outside. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I had been sweating from the heat of the blanket. As soon as I was capable, I looked around only to find myself alone.

I went to the bathroom to get dressed for the day. I'm sure Alice would be waiting for me downstairs. By the time I finished up, Emmett had come in. He smiled and hugged me. Then I felt his cold hand on the back of my neck.

"How are you feeling? Edward told me you were having a bad dream." Emmett said.

"I'm fine. I just need to shake off the bad feeling it gave me. Is Alice ready to go?" I asked.

"Yeah. She invited Rose, Esme and Alice to go with you guys." Emmett told me.

Internally I was sighing at the fact of Rosalie joining us. All I did was give Emmett a smile so he'd at least think I was excited to go shopping with Rosalie. I knew there was something she didn't like about me. I just couldn't place what it was.

"I hope everyone can have a good time." I said.

"I'm sure they will. I'll go tell Alice you're almost ready." Emmett said.

"No need. I'm sure she knows and plus I'm ready." I said as I turned around towards him.

"You look great. I will make sure that everything is ready for tonight. You enjoy yourself." Emmett told me.

"I will Em. You guys enjoy yourselves but don't hurt your brothers." I said.

He laughed. We walked downstairs and I went out to the car with the ladies. I sat in the back seat with Esme and Bella. They let me sit in the middle. That made me feel better. I wasn't sure if it was who I was sitting next to or just the fact that they were going to protect me if we were in an accident.

"So you and Emmett going on a date tonight huh?" Alice said.

"Yeah. I'm really excited for it." I told her.

"You should be. Emmett is going to make this date extra special for you." Esme said. "Emmett is a lot more caring and sensitive than people give him credit for."

"I know he is. He has shown me time and time again how caring he is. I think that's one reason why I find him so attractive." I explained.

Everyone smiled. It was nice to have some people to talk to about this. Even though Rosalie was not my biggest fan, I hoped she was decent to Emmett. I only hoped that if I were going to be part of this family, Rosalie and I could be closer than we are now.

We finally made it to the mall. We all had a little shopping to do. Esme and Bella went to look at their things they needed. They didn't come for clothes, they came for other things that they were working on.

Alice and Rosalie took me around shopping. Alice had promised me she'd learn my style before buying me any more clothes. I was a bit skeptical of how Rosalie was going to try and help. Not that I didn't appreciate what help she did give, it's just that we weren't on the best of terms. Not since Emmett and I had really made things official between us.

Rosalie, for some reason, held that against me. I wasn't entirely sure what the problem was. Maybe I was supposed to feel jealous or envious of how pretty she was. Or maybe she liked Emmett like I did. Which wouldn't make any sense. I just wasn't sure at all how to handle this problem. Maybe I'd get a chance to ask her. Or if Alice cold tell me something about Rosalie and Emmett's past that'd help me understand better.

Sure Rosalie knew how I felt after being raped, but it was the only time she offered me any sort of kindness. It was hard to watch her just glare at me when I was around Emmett. I wanted to ask why she hated me, but I could never find the courage to actually ask. In a way she was the most frightening one of them.

"So where would you like to go first?" Alice asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Well I want to look at different places if that's ok. I'd like a chance to pick up a few different things. I'm sure you could probably guess what all I have on my list." I said with a chuckle.

Alice chuckled too. "You are right. But I'm choosing to leave it a mystery. No powers from me today."

I thought I caught Rosalie rolling her eyes and letting out a sigh.

"Well I appreciate that Alice. I just hope you don't mind my style. And I hope that you can remember my size." I said, before frowning and comparing myself to the two girls on either side of me.

"You are beautiful just as you are! So don't go thinking of yourself in a bad way like that! We all love you so much and want you to be so happy! Right Rose?" Alice said with plenty of excitement for us all.

"Of course. We all want her to be happy." Rosalie said with more sarcasm than necessary.

She walked off from us to go look at things she likes. It gave me the perfect opportunity to talk with Alice about what's bothering Rosalie.

"Alice can you answer something for me?" I asked.

"I already know what you want to ask. I saw it last night. It gave me time to prepare an answer for you." Alice said.

"And what is your answer?" I asked.

"Rosalie is the only person who can answer what you want to know. It's not my story to tell. After she explains to you, I know you'll want to talk with Emmett." Alice said.

"Oh, okay." I said a bit disappointedly.

"Don't worry. She doesn't hate you. She is just… Jealous? I'm not sure what the best way to describe how she feels is." Alice told me.

Alice told me to stop and wait here for her. I listened, unsure of why she'd ask me to do so. She walked over to Rosalie and convinced her to come walk around with us. She seemed to listen to what Alice had to say because they both were walking over towards me.

"Okay, let's go!" Alice said with her usual smile.

We all walked together to different stores. They helped me to pick out different shirts, shorts, skirts and more that fit me well. I loved everything they helped me to pick out so far. They even helped me to pick out this really cute dress that was strapless and shorter than anything I'd usually wear. The upside was they helped me to find it in a beautiful sapphire color. Alice said it complimented my skin, hair and eye color very well.

We finally made it to Vitoria's Secret. Alice said she needed to stay outside the store for a minute to check on Bella and Esme. I was stuck with Rosalie until she came back in with us. I guess this would be the best opportunity I had to talk to Rosalie about our problem.

"Rosalie, can I ask you something?" I asked.

"Yeah." She said.

"Why do you hate me so much? We only bonded once in the time we've known each other and I was just curious what I did to hurt you." I explained.

She sighed before speaking. She turned to look at me.

"I don't hate you. I'm not your number one fan, but it doesn't mean I hate you. I haven't spent that much time with you because I'm jealous. Or envious even." She said.

"But why? I'm nowhere near as beautiful as you. You could do anything you wanted with how smart you are and you are a wonderful mechanic from what I've been told." I said.

"There's more than one thing that you have and I don't." She said.

"What could I possibly have that you don't?" I asked.

"A mate. Someone to spend the rest of your life with. The chance to have children if you wanted to. I've wanted that for so long. I didn't realize I did as a human. I wasted my time on my looks. On worrying about having money. I never knew what I was missing out on. When I first saw Emmett I thought he'd be my mate. That's why I saved him. I wanted to be with someone that badly that I would've stayed with him if no one had told us differently. I tried for years to have a child with him, but realized that it was just not possible. So please take good care of him. Make sure you're doing things that you won't regret later." Rosalie told me with the saddest look I'd ever seen.

"Rosalie… I'm so sorry. I didn't know." I explained.

"It's ok. I shouldn't have expected you to know or understand." Rosalie said.

I hugged her. It was the best thing I could think to do. I wanted to fix all her problems. I just wasn't sure how that'd be possible. She hugged me back. I hoped that this would be the start of us becoming friends.

Alice walked over to us, only to catch us hugging. She smiled and knew that Rosalie had explained everything to me. She then walked around with us and helped me to pick out the perfect lingerie for tonight and for the rest of the month. I was so excited to get ready for my date with Emmett tonight that the time had passed quickly. I didn't realize it had been several hours had passed.

We met up with Bella and Esme and went out to the car with all our bags. I was excited to see what Emmett had planned for us. I also had a few questions for him tonight. Hopefully it wouldn't ruin the mood. I thought maybe I'd be ready for something special to happen tonight with me and Emmett, but I wasn't sure at all. I guess there was only one way to find out if I was.


	20. Chapter 20

As we neared the house, Alice told me to close my eyes. She said the guys were almost done decorating and the wanted it to be a surprise. The car came to a complete stop and everyone was starting to get out. I was picked up by someone while another person got our bags out of the trunk. It felt like I was being packed by one of the women. I figured out that it was Rosalie packing me while Alice got my bags.

Once I was stood up on the ground, Alice told me to open my eyes. She had already gotten my new bra and underwear set out of my bag for tonight along with the new dress. I think the only thing I had forgot about buying was a new pair of shoes. Alice explained I wouldn't need it or any jewelry tonight. Alice and Rosalie helped me to get ready for the date. I had gathered that I would be spending time with Emmett here alone.

Shortly after I was finished. Alice went downstairs to check on everything. She was back in a matter of seconds. She said the family would be leaving for me and Emmett to be able to have our date night. Which was good because my excitement was rising again. Everyone was gone after that and I walked downstairs to meet Emmett at the bottom of them in my new dress and things.

"Wow!" Emmett muttered barely loud enough for me to hear.

"Does this look ok?" I asked.

I stepped off the last step and twirled slowly around for him to see the whole outfit.

"Wow!" He said louder this time and with a smile.

"Thanks. You look good too." I said with an equally big smile on my face.

Emmett gently took me by the hand and led me to the living room area. The furniture had been moved out of the way so we could dance. There was a fireplace with a fire in it on the far wall. It gave the room plenty of light for us to dance by. Then we moved on to the kitchen. There was a plate full of food there for me to eat.

"What do you think?" Emmett asked, clearly feeling nervous.

"I love it Emmett. Thank you for all of this! It looks so amazing!" I said.

We sat down to eat and enjoyed talking for a bit. It was the only chance I might get to ask about what happened between him and Rosalie.

"Emmett, I want to talk to you about something." I said.

"What would that be?" He asked.

"How did Rosalie find you?" I asked.

"I was almost mulled to death by a bear. She found me close to home. I used to live in Tennessee. She found me laying in the woods and took me to Carlisle. When I finally became conscious again, I thought Rosalie was an angel and Carlisle was supposed to be God. I was wrong on both counts. I found out what had really happened not long after that." Emmett explained.

"What happened between you and Rosalie after that?" I asked.

"We had a little fling for a solid decade. Then Alice came along with Jasper and told us everything she knew. We split up and then we have been just been friends ever since then. I didn't tell you because I wanted to get to know you better before telling you that." Emmett told me.

"I understand. I just want you to know that I'm not mad or upset about this. I understand you were doing what you thought was right. As long as you promise it won't happen anymore I will be fine." I explained.

Emmett smiled. I smiled too. I got up and walked over to him. He stood up and looked at me. I pulled him in close for a sweet and gentle kiss. He put both hands on my waist. I felt him kiss back. I pulled him back into the living room. I wanted to be close to the fire. I knew I was ready to move on to the next level with Emmett. Maybe I shouldn't be ready, but I know now that I can handle it.

"Wait, I don't know if we should…" Emmett said.

I knew where his hesitation was coming from. I needed him to know that I was fully ready to commit to him.

"It's ok Emmett. For many reasons. I know you're hesitant now, but I promise its ok." I told him.

He seemed to be hesitant still, but gave into me a little bit. He kissed me again. I held onto his hair as tight as I could. I felt his hands move to the zipper on the back of my dress. He pulled it down ever so slowly in case I changed my mind. I wasn't about to do that in the next few minutes.

While he did that, my hands moved to his shirt and unbuttoned it. Then he took it and his pants off. I let my dress fall as we were apart for a moment. Then I let him see me in my most self-conscious state I'd ever be in. He walked over to me carefully and grabbed my waist again. His lips pressed to mine and pulled back after that. I noticed then that my bra was unhooked. I let it drop to the ground and pushed my underwear down as well. Emmett dropped his to the ground as well.

I stepped towards him and kissed him. I felt his erection press against me. I was getting more excited by the second. Having him touch me was wonderful. I felt every little sensation that his lips left on my lips all the way down to my collar bone.

I pulled him close to me. I kept him there. He pulled one of my legs up and had pressed me against a wall. I didn't remember him moving us at all. I didn't care in the least where we were at.

Emmett finally pressed himself inside me and allowed me a moment to adjust. After I had, he thrust a couple times to see if I could manage it. It was easy enough. Or at least it seemed to be. It sent tingles through my body. I was practically begging him for more. I moaned and let his name slip past my lips a few times. I heard him growl a couple times as he grew inside me a little. I was squeezing around him as he grew.

I knew I had to be getting close to my high. I knew he was too. He kept going. After we both came to our high, I wanted more. I kept kissing him ready to go one more time. I need to try this once more as I became addicted to the feeling he gave me. He was even more relaxed this time and moved us to a table top. Everything was wiped off of it.

Emmett turned me around and went from a different angle. It was feeling just as sweet as the first time. It felt just as good as the first actually. It was hitting all the right spots. I couldn't imagine how Emmett would've gotten us to this position, but I didn't care. We both worked our ways up to our highs and stopped after that.

It was a very blissful night and I couldn't have imagined it going any better than it did. I was starting to feel tired though. I needed some rest. I just wanted Emmett to stay close to me so I could feel his coolness against me.

"Thank you for that Emmett." I said.

"You're welcome. Now it's time to get you into bed for some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be an early day for you." Emmett said.


	21. Chapter 21

The next morning I woke up with the sun shining in my eyes. I was lying in a big comfy bed in silky pajamas. I felt a big, muscular arm wrap around me. I recognized it immediately. I smiled and half turned towards the man I loved more than my own life now. The man I could be the most intimate with. The one who could help me overcome any hurdle I faced.

"Good morning beautiful. I was just about to come wake you up." Emmett whispered gently into my hair.

"I'm glad you are here. I was afraid that I'd wake up and everything up until now would be a dream. Now that I have you wrapped around me, I know it was anything but a dream." I said as I adjusted myself.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

I checked everything. I felt a little sore, but it was nothing that I couldn't handle. I smiled and kissed him before giving my answer. He smiled in response to my kiss.

"You know that's not what I meant." He said with a smirk.

"I know. I just wanted to feel your lips again. I feel fine on the other hand. A little sore in some places but it's something that I can handle." I explained to him.

He kissed me gently on the nose. I sat up and stretched. The soreness was a little worse than I thought. I was still in a place where I could handle it though. I walked over to the closet and picked out something to wear for today. It was a pair of blue jeans that had random rips in the legs. To go along with it, I picked out a blue plaid button up shirt. I did my hair in a loose pony tail for comforts sake today. By the time I finished, Emmett picked me up and took me downstairs.

"The parade is going to start soon. We have it all ready to watch on the TV." Emmett told me.

"I love watching the parade. It is one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving." I said.

Emmett had went into the kitchen for something with Edward and Jasper. Alice, Esme, Bella and Rosalie walk in to the living room where I am sitting. They all smiled and stared at me. What was I missing?

"So?" Esme asked.

"So?" I repeated.

"How did the date go last night?" Bella insisted.

I blushed a deep red color.

"It went a lot better than I thought it would. We had a lot to talk about and we really enjoyed each other's company." I said modestly.

"Tell us everything. I know that there has to be more than that." Alice insisted.

I blushed again as she spoke. I didn't say anything as I spoke. I looked around at everyone. I stopped on Rosalie's face though. I wondered what she thought of all this. I didn't know whether or not I should say anything just because of her. I knew how she felt and I didn't want any more bad tensions between us.

"I don't know how much I should really say." I told them.

"We all want to know. It's really okay for you to go into detail." Rosalie finally said.

We smiled at each other for a minute. We both knew she meant it too. I told them everything that we did during our date last night. Everyone had their sighs and their moments where they giggled a little. By the end of me explaining, everyone seemed to think it was an overall romantic night for us. I would agree. I had fun with Emmett.

A minute later the guys came walking in. They all were smiling and the kids were pushing each other around playfully. Emmett sat down on the couch beside me. He wrapped his arm around me as the Parade came on TV. I was so excited to see all the floats, balloons and everything else they had planned for this year. I smiled and enjoyed watching it. I'd occasionally hum a little to the music that would come on.

After the parade was over, Alice asked if I would come help in the kitchen. I told her I'd love to help however I could. When we walked in, I looked around at the counters. Everything was already finished. It all looked so delicious and so beautiful. Just like the dinners my mother used to make back home. I was shocked and on the verge of crying.

"Is everything ok? Did I do something wrong?" Alice asked.

"No. You did everything right. All of you did. I can't believe you all would go through this trouble to make me this. To make sure that I felt welcome here. I have felt blessed to have you guys in my life the last couple of months. I'm just waiting to wake up and all this be part of some kind of crazy dream." I said as the tears rolled down my face.

Emmett wiped the tears away. He hugged me after that in the most loving way he could.

"We all love you. We want you to feel like part of this family." Esme said.

"Well you have succeeded. I promise that someday, somehow I will pay you back for all this." I said.

Everyone smiled and went to do what they wanted. Emmett sat down with me at the table so I could enjoy the food while it was still hot. We talked while I ate. He wanted to know how I felt about what happened last night and constantly made sure that I was ok. I told him everything was fine and he didn't need to ask so much. I told him to just relax and if I needed anything I would let him know it.


	22. Chapter 22

Thanksgiving break had finally come to an end. We were finishing up our semester on a good note. All my work had been going great and I was enjoying my time with the Cullen's when I got to see them. I never realized how stressed out I'd actually feel about the end of the semester in college.

It was finals week and I haven't hardly talked to Emmett or his family. I had turned my phone off during the day for class after Thanksgiving break and forgot to turn it back on. I had my head so far into my books, papers, projects and presentations that I felt like I was going to go officially insane.

I hadn't even spoke to my roommate in two weeks. Then again I practically lived at the library when I wasn't in class. I felt so much pressure to study that I was on the verge of a breakdown. I hadn't ever studied this hard in my life. One night I finally had a break from studying and knew that Emmett was going to be worried about me.

I looked for my phone. I found it in the front pocket of my book bag. I tried turning it on, but the battery was dead. I put it on charge in the outlet next to my bed. I gave it a little time to gain some charge. I cleaned my room for a little while before I checked my phone again. It was finally charged and I finally turned it on.

There were a few missed calls and some texts. They were from Esme and Emmett. I listened to the voicemails from them. In Esme's voicemails I heard Emmett talking in the background. I laughed at him trying to yell over what Esme was saying. I went on to the texts next. I would start with Esme before looking at Emmett's.

Esme: Hey sweetie. Just checking on you.

Esme: Is everything ok? Haven't seen you outside of class much.

Esme: Please answer me soon. I'm very worried about you.

Brittlyn: I'm sorry Esme. I have been so busy and had turned my phone off. I forgot to turn it back on. I'm fine. Please don't worry anymore.

I moved on to what Emmett sent me.

Emmett: Hey babe. Hope you're doing ok.

Emmett: Hey I need to know you're doing ok. I don't want you getting hurt.

Emmett: Babe

Emmett: Babe, answer me please.

There were many other texts like this from him. I sighed. I knew I was worrying him. Instead of texting him, I dialed his number. It rang twice before he picked up. I could practically feel his excitement coming through the phone. And his anxiousness too.

"Babe, I've been so worried about you." Emmett said.

"I know Emmett. I'm sorry I haven't texted or called you back. I've been…" I started.

"Do you even understand what I've been feeling for the last two weeks? You never answered your phone and you've been completely ignoring me during and after class. I can't help but wonder if something is wrong that you aren't talking to me." Emmett said.

I sighed while he was talking. I couldn't handle this on top of normal school stress. I wasn't ignoring him. I was just busy with my own thing. I wasn't intentionally trying to be rude to him and he needed to understand that.

"Emmett, I'm not trying to ignore you. I've been busy with school stuff. Hasn't it ever kept you busy before?" I asked.

"No not really. I haven't stayed that busy with school stuff in years." He said.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I guess it wouldn't keep you busy." I said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"What is what supposed to mean Emmett?" I asked, clearly confused.

"I mean the part where you said 'I guess it wouldn't keep you busy'." He said.

"I mean…" I started before being interrupted again.

"I know exactly what you mean." He accused.

"Emmett you don't understand. What I meant was..." I said.

"Don't bother explaining. I know exactly what you meant." Emmett huffed angrily over the phone.

Suddenly the line was dead. There was silence. I held the phone to my ear a moment longer. It was so weird. Emmett usually didn't get so mad. I understood what he thought I meant, but he was taking everything completely out of context.

I tried to text him. I didn't get a response all evening. So I texted Esme. Then I tried texting Alice, Rosalie and Bella. No one was answering me. I wrote Emmett another text trying to explain what I meant. I hoped he'd at least read it after he calmed down.

This made me feel so heartbroken. I felt like he was giving up on me. Maybe he was more stressed than I realized. I couldn't be entirely sure what the problem was unless and or until I got to talk to him again. Which I hoped more than anything would be sooner rather than later.


	23. Chapter 23

I waited for a while to see if Emmett or anyone else would call me back. They didn't and it worried me. I was up until almost three in the morning. I fell asleep from being exhausted. I woke up around nine the next morning.

When I looked at the clock, I realized I only had an half an hour to make sure I got to my next class before our test started. I quickly threw my hair into a bun and a hat on my head. Then I put on a pair of sandals not even thinking how cold it was going to be outside. I grabbed my book bag with all my papers and such in folders ready for whatever class I went to.

I managed to get to class five minutes before the test started. I sat down in a middle sit in the front row. Which usually wasn't the normal for me. Soon the professor handed out our papers for the test and we were able to start. I managed to finish my test within an hour. I turned it in along with the paper I wrote for class.

I went back to my dorm room, not expecting what was waiting there for me. Emmett was sitting there, waiting for me outside of my door. I stood there looking at him. He heard me coming closer. He looked so ashamed over something. I walked passed him to unlock my door. I didn't say a word because I felt so hurt over what he said last night. Just as I opened my door he started speaking.

"Listen, I think we need to talk. Can I come in?" He asked.

I nodded. Not able to talk. Usually when people said 'We need to talk', it meant they were about to break up with someone. I don't think that's what Emmett was going to do, but I wasn't going to get my hopes up.

"I wanted to apologize. I knew I overreacted last night. Alice said she seen you worrying about me all night. I know that just apologizing won't fix things or change what I said. I just wanted you to know that I will do whatever it takes to earn my forgiveness." He said.

He looked like a kicked puppy now. I couldn't stand to see him this upset. I wanted to fix his sadness. I knew he wanted to apologize for hurting me. I tried to think of the best thing to do. I don't know what the right thing would be. Although a few things came to mind. I just didn't think he'd go for them.

"Emmett, I will admit that what happened last night did hurt me. I didn't mean for what I said to come off wrong. I didn't mean to worry you guys or be rude. I have just been really stressed about school stuff lately. I'm sorry about all that." I said as I hugged him.

He hugged me back before saying, "I know babe. I know you weren't doing any of that intentionally. I just got mad and was upset because I thought maybe… Well, maybe you were cheating on me."

"Emmett McCarty! I would never cheat on you. I love you too much to even consider something like that." I said rather loudly.

He let out a booming laugh. It shook the whole room. I smiled as I heard it. I knew he had forgiven me then. I pulled back enough to look at him. I pulled his head down to meet mine. His hands were on my waist.

"What is this for?" He asked.

"Do you want to earn your forgiveness babe? This is how you are going to do it." I explained with a wry smile.

He smiled. He kissed me again. I held onto him as tightly as I could. He put his hands on my waist and grabbed a little tighter than the first time. I was loving where this was heading and I wasn't about to stop it. I need to feel some sort of friction between us.

Emmett went to kissing my neck. It sent a tingling sensation through my body. I started undressing myself. Emmett was already beating me to it. He had himself undressed and was ripping my clothes off of me. He pressed himself against me. I felt his large erection getting harder the longer we stood here.

Emmett had went back to kissing my neck some more. He had picked me up and it allowed me to wrap my legs around his waist. I felt him probing my woman hood for an entrance. He found it and I moaned as he entered me. I wrapped my arms around the nape of his neck. It made me feel so nice as we were in this position. I let him take his time.

Emmett started moving my hips. He moved them forward and back on his hardened erection. Then he moved my hips, as well as the rest of me, up and done on it. While he was doing that, his mouth had moved from my neck to my collar bone to my breasts. He was determined to get me as excited as possible. As he hit all my erotic areas, I was getting close to my high.

"Hold it until I tell you." Emmett said through all the kissing.

I did. It was torture holding it back. I was on the very verge of releasing all over him. Then he tells me to wait. I didn't understand why. I had one hand looking for some hold on him while the other was looking for a hold on the wall behind me.

"You can let it all go now." Emmett said through gritted teeth.

I finally released everything I was holding back on him. I had let out his name on a half scream half moan. My body twitched at the excitement that was finally coming and going. I then realized I was feeling Emmett release his hot and sticky mess inside me. I felt him throbbing inside me. I was still squeezing on his member. We enjoyed the moment now.


	24. Chapter 24

After another wonderful night with Emmett, I couldn't imagine how things could be any better between us. The next day I was able to take my last final and go home with Emmett. I was spending the holidays with his family. They always made such a big deal out these things. I wasn't sure if it all were because of me or if they truly enjoyed it that much.

On the way home, Emmett took me to go shopping I told him that I wanted to get the perfect gift for everyone. We stopped and I went inside the mall with Emmett. Alice said she'd meet me there to help me with distracting Emmett. I had an idea for him that would make a great gift. Alice had said she seen me getting gifts for everyone except for her. She pouted at me when she told me.

"Why aren't you getting me a gift?" Alice asked in a disappointed tone.

"Maybe it's because I can't get you a gift without you seeing it and ruining the whole surprise Alice." I said truthfully.

"I've seen some of the things you thought about getting me, Brittlyn. Each one isn't something I'd personally choose for myself. I thought maybe you knew me better than that." Alice said with a frown.

This is the exact reaction I was hoping for. I knew the one way to get Alice a gift without her knowing was to wait until I found the perfect item and then get it. I couldn't put any though into it because then she'd see the decision I made. So while she would be distracting Emmett so I could get his gift, I'd also be picking hers up.

"Don't worry Alice. I'm sure I will come up with something before we leave today. I know there has to be something you'd like." I said.

"Okay." Alice said, continuing with her pouting.

She must see me looking at some things for her. By the time she split off with Emmett, I went to pick up the gift I knew I was getting for Alice. I had found her a beautiful set of jewelry. It was ear rings, a necklace and a bracelet set. It all matched and I had managed to get a huge discount for it. I planned on wrapping it in this horrifying dress that was obviously too big for Alice. I looked at it on the way in and decided on getting it for her. Little did she know what she was really getting.

For Jasper I had found a special pair of boots that Alice helped me to pick out. For Esme, I picked up some paper and pencils in various sizes and colors so she could use it for drawing for her fun or for her job as an architect. Carlisle Would be getting a Bible and a cross to use however he wished. He had told me once that he was in need of both things. Edward would be getting some paper so he could write down his music for others. Bella would be getting some new books that were considered classics. Rosalie, I decided, would be getting some new tools for when she'd be working in the garage. I knew she was in need of some new tools. Emmett was wanting some new games to play. So I thought I'd get them for him.

By the time I had finished my shopping, Alice and Emmett met up with me outside of the gaming store I was in. It was nice that all my shopping was finally done. I had three days to get it all wrapped and put it under the tree. When we got to the Cullen house, Emmett and Alice packed their bags in to their rooms. I told them I could handle getting my bags.

I went up to Emmett's room after he finished wrapping his gifts for everyone. I wrapped mine as quick as I could so I could add them to the pile of gifts that were already there. When I wrapped Alice's stuff, I had to be very careful about wrapping her real gift and the fake one. The real one would have to be hidden somewhere until It was time for it to be opened. Luckily while I was wrapping my gifts for everyone, they decided to go out for a hunt.

By the time they got back I had already put the gifts under the tree and knew exactly where I had hidden Alice's real gift without having to think about it. I made sure it was in a chair that Emmett and I always sat in. They walked in just as I finished putting my gifts under the tree. Alice was giving me the cold shoulder.

"Are you really going to be this mad at me Alice?" I asked.

"I thought I heard something. Guess not." She said.

I was shocked at this. Everyone stared at Alice with the same amount of shock. Even Jasper thought she was being a little too dramatic.

"Alice. That's no way to act." Esme scolded her.

"I don't know what you mean Esme. I'm only being my normal self." Alice said.

"Well I'm sorry you feel that way Alice. I was hoping that you could enjoy your gift I got you on Christmas morning. I hope you'll at least humor me." I said.

Alice didn't answer me and walked away with Jasper behind her. I felt hurt by this. It wasn't like Alice to be this cold to people. She was usually the friendliest one of them. That's when it hit me. She wasn't mad at me. She was mad about the gift. Alice didn't hate the gift because of what it was. She hated it and was mad because nothing about it was right for her. She saw what special and personal gifts I was giving to the others. She didn't think hers was going to be as special as anyone else's gifts were now.


	25. Chapter 25

The next few days had passed rather quickly. I was very excited about everyone opening their gifts. They wanted me to open mine first. I did because they were all so excited. I had so many things from everyone. They gave me clothes, drawing, supplies, books, and music. They all knew me very well. Emmett had a surprise gift for me. He had bought me a camera while he was with Alice.

Everyone else opened their things. They all seemed so happy with what they got. Alice was the only one who wasn't so pleased with what she got from me. She opened it and looked so upset by the idea of the dress. She looked on the verge of tears. I could see that this probably wasn't the best fake gift to give her. I walked over to hug her.

"Alice I'm sorry this gift has upset you. I hope you'll forgive me." I said as I pulled away from her.

"I don't know if I can ever forgive you for this." Alice practically yelled at me.

I didn't even think about getting her the actual gift. I was so upset that she thought I was serious with this. I dug her actual gift out from between the couch cushions. I walked back over to Alice. I handed her the smaller box.

"This is your actual gift from me Alice. I didn't even think about this gift. It was so special that I didn't want it to be ruined. I didn't want you to be clued in to what I had actually got for you. The dress I got you wasn't your actual gift. I knew you wouldn't like it but I needed to get you something so I didn't look like a jerk. Merry Christmas Alice." I said, feeling so upset with and frowning.

I felt tears threatening to spill over. This reminded me of the Christmas's that I had at home. I walked away from this and went upstairs. I didn't want to ruin anyone else's day. I sat down on a large chair next to the window. I watched the snow fall outside the window. I hadn't noticed how cold I had got just sitting here.

Someone walked in. I sat there, unmoving, staring out the window. I didn't want to bother others with my depression. I knew it'd bother the others because everyone else was having such a good time. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that there were two people standing there. Both were blond and both had longer hair.

"I'm sorry you guys. I don't feel like talking about it yet. I know I screwed up and I'm sorry for ruining everyone else's day." I said without actually looking at Rosalie or Jasper.

"It's not your fault." Rosalie said.

"Rosalie is right. Alice is being chewed out by Emmett right now. No one knows we came up here." Jasper said.

This surprised me. I didn't understand why they came up here. I knew they were supposed to be like twins, but why would these two just come to check on me? We weren't that close.

"Don't be that surprised. We both really like you. And we want to be closer to you than you realize. I know I do because the happiness you radiate draws me to you." Jasper said.

"And I know I haven't been the nicest to you. I just am getting used to the idea that you have someone that I thought I'd get to be with. I really like you more than you think." Rosalie told me.

"Thanks guys. I was just reminded of all the years at home. All the times that my parents fought and I was miserable. I always become the disappointment." I told them, turning my head enough to see their faces.

"You aren't a disappointment to us. We all really do love you. Come down stairs with us. I think it might help to calm everyone down." Jasper said.

I stood u and walked back downstairs with them. I walked in with them. Everyone but Emmett and Alice stared at us. I walked over to Emmett. I grabbed his hand as he yelled at Alice. When he felt my hand, he jerked away. I wasn't expecting this. Emmett quickly looked over to me.

"Are you feeling okay? You're freezing." Emmett said.

"I feel fine Emmett. You're the one who isn't feeling ok. Don't be mad at Alice. I'm the one who screwed up. Be mad at me instead." I told him.

Emmett softened at my words. Even his eyes turned to a more liquid like substance. I hugged him and pulled away. I looked to Alice who was staring at me. She looked upset and happy at the same time.

"I'm sorry for making you think that the dress was your actual gift Alice. I hope you can forgive me." I said.

"Consider yourself forgiven. When I saw what you actually got for me, I was shocked. How did you afford this? It must've cost way too much." Alice said.

"I got a huge discount for it all. It took a lot of saving, but in the end it was really worth it. Alice you are like a sister to me. All of you guys are like a family to me." I said.

I was given a warm smile and a hug by everyone in the house. It felt nice to be embraced by such a wonderful family. I hugged them all back and smiled. I hoped today would get better. I wanted to enjoy being here with them.


	26. Chapter 26

After a few hours, the family had surprised me with a big meal like they made for Thanksgiving. Everyone stood around talking like there was no tomorrow. After I was finished I helped to clean up the kitchen.

"It's such a shame that there's so much food here that could go to waste. I wish there were somewhere we could take it." I said to the room at large.

"No need to worry. We found someone last week who said they'd come by to pick up the food and take it to a place for homeless people to eat. They say the more fresh food they get, the better it is for everyone. He will be here very soon." Alice said.

I smiled at her. I'm glad she decided to forgive me earlier. I do wonder how she found a place to send the food to. I didn't care one way or another what happens to the food. If someone else can make us of it, then I'd be happy to give it to whoever would take.

"I am so happy that everyone has made up." Esme said.

"Me too. I don't like seeing such a happy family be mad at each other." I said just as my phone went off.

I walked over to see who was calling me. It was my mother. For some reason I thought I had blocked or deleted her number from my phone. I guess I didn't. I answered it and walked into another room, not that it'd make much of a difference.

"Hello mother. What's going on?" I said into the phone.

"Hello daughter. I was just calling to see how you were doing. I hadn't heard from you in so long. I was missing the sound of your voice. I wish you would've come in for Christmas." Mother said in a sweet tone.

I didn't trust her any more. Not after the huge fight we had some months ago. It caused me so much pain and hurt. I knew I could choose the people I shared the same blood with, but I could choose the people I was surrounded by.

"Mom, do you realize how much I have hurt over the last few months over what you said to me?" I asked.

There was silence for a moment.

"I'm really sorry over that. I was going through my drinking phase again. You know how I get when I'm like that." She said.

"Enough with the excuses mom! I'm tired of always having to be the one you get angry with every time you drink like a fucking dog. I am always the one to get hurt physically and emotionally because of that problem." I told her.

"I'm sorry I don't know what else you want me to do about this." She said.

"I want you to stop drinking mom. I want you to get your life straightened out. So until that happens or I get married, I don't know if I can talk to you." I explained to her.

I hung up after the conversation. I didn't want to hear any more of what my mother had to tell me. I placed my phone down on the table and went back to talk with the Cullen's. I wished my family were more like this family.

Emmett smiled at me. He grabbed my hand and led me into the living room. He turned on some music and turned the volume up. Emmett wanted to dance and had turned on some good music to dance to. I smiled as we danced together.

Everyone laughed and smiled with us. The rest of the family joined in shortly after and danced with us. Carlisle and Esme kept more to themselves dancing on the outside of the group of us kids, watching us. Everyone had their own little space. Soon I had scooted towards the middle of the group.

I was dancing to each song as if no one was watching. I easily got lost in the music I liked. It made me focus no matter what else was going on. I could help but feel very free and relaxed when certain songs came on. I soon realized everyone else was just watching me dance.

"Sorry. I really get into my music when something I really like comes on." I said with a smile and laugh.

"You are such a great dancer and a great singer. Where did you learn that at?" Emmett asked as he pulled me back towards him.

"I don't know. I've been doing it for as long as I can remember. Every chance I got when I was alone I would always feel so free and just let myself go." I told him.

"Well you are very sexy when you let yourself be free." Emmett whispered in my ear.

I kissed him after he said that. Emmett always knew what to say to make me blush. I hugged him and then turned to look at everyone. Alice had turned the volume down. Then she went to the kitchen and brought the food in. A few short minutes later there was a knock at the door. Alice answered it. There was a younger guy there to pick up the food. Alice made Edward, Emmett and Jasper take the food out. Carlisle offered to get the last few things and take them out. I thought it was sweet of the guys to do that. It was so nice of the soup kitchen to take the food and give it to those who needed it now.


	27. Chapter 27

A week and a half passes by. We don't really do anything too exciting, but we do get to enjoy our gifts from each other. I was so grateful for the Cullen's letting me stay with them. Not many people would do that. It was definitely better than having to stay in the dorms for very long. I was so happy here, getting to enjoy the simple things that were often offered by the family.

"What would you like to do today?" Emmett asked.

"Why don't we go out to eat? We could go back to that Irish pub like on our first date." I said.

Emmett shook his head. "I don't really feel like going out though. Could we do something here?"

"What do you want to do then?" I asked.

"Why don't we go to that special place I showed you the first time you came here?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I guess we could."

Emmett pulled me up with him and dressed me warmly in a coat, boats and scarf. He then dragged me outside with him to go to his special place. I did my best to not think about it around a few of the family members. I knew Emmett was very strict about that. He liked to have this one place as his own little sanctuary. When we finally made it, Emmett stopped. I stopped right beside him.

He leaned down to kiss me. I smiled into the kiss. Emmett smiled back. Is this why he wanted to come out here? Just to kiss me? Maybe for sex? It didn't seem like that's what he wanted. Maybe I was wrong. Emmett put his hands on my waist. I placed my hands around the nape of his neck.

"You seem to be in such a lovey dovey mood today. I like it. It suits you very well." I said, kissing his chin when I was finished.

"Thanks. I feel very lovey right now. I guess romantic is more the word I was looking for. I did bring you out here for a reason though." Emmett said.

"Oh really? What reason would that be?" I asked as I turned to look at some of the snow on the ground behind me.

"Well I was just thinking that things were great between us. I know we have had some rough spots already, but it's all been worked out. Right?" He said.

"Of course. Every relationship has some rough spots. It's only normal that they happen as long as it's not every day." I said.

I marveled at the snow that surrounded us. It looked so beautiful. It danced in the shining sun. The snowflakes looked like they all contained a thousand tiny diamonds that glittered and were piled up together. I was waiting for Emmett to speak again.

"Well I was just wondering about something my dazzling queen." He said.

"What would that be my handsome king?" I asked as I turned around.

When I turned to look at Emmett, he was down on one knee. He pulled out a small box. He smiled at me with his special smile that lit up his whole face, making him seem younger than he was. He opened up the box before he spoke to me.

"Will you marry me?" He asked.

I took a few steps closer to him. I hadn't realized Emmett would do this. I didn't think that he'd want to be married. I thought that just being mated forever would be enough for us. He hadn't ever talked about marriage or even turning me into a vampire for that matter. That's when I felt the tears in my eyes. I was crying because of how happy I felt. I loved Emmett so much and here he was ready to commit to only me.

"Yes Emmett McCarty! I will marry you!" I said.

Emmett slid the ring onto my finger. It fit almost too perfectly. It stayed in its place on my ring finger on my left hand. Emmett then picked me up and twirled me around. He was almost as happy as I was. He finally stopped twirling me and set my feet on the ground. He kissed me again.

"I'm so happy we can and will make this commitment together. We can talk about some other things later, but I just want to enjoy this moment." Emmett said.


	28. Chapter 28

We stayed here to talk for a while. Emmett was almost as excited as I was about this. I thought about how I was on the right track to start rebuilding a family for myself. I was already getting a great start because Emmett had a wonderful family. I was excited to get to be part of this family. It was bigger than my own family and had a way better bond than mine ever would.

"Emmett, will I ever get to be like you and the rest of your family? Be a vampire I mean." I asked him.

"Yes, but I think you need some time to prepare yourself before that will happen though. I know you probably want to be a vampire sooner rather than later, but I don't want to risk hurting you." Emmett explained.

"I don't mind the waiting. I was just wondering if it would ever happen. I have a pretty good idea of what it might be like when I'm changed." I said.

Emmett smiled and let out his booming laugh.

"Well when we have prepared you enough, then you can pick and choose when you want to be turned." He said.

"Good because I don't want to have to wait forever for it. But I would like for you to be the one who turns me if that is at all possible." I said.

"We'll see babe. I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to handle that. I will certainly do my best for you." Emmett said.

I smiled. "It's ok if you can't. I would be mad at all. I wouldn't even be disappointed. I'd just be happy to be with you for eternity."

"That's all I needed to know." Emmett said with his warm smile.

He walked towards me. My back was already against a tree trunk when he got up. He was a blur for half a second as he came over. I smiled up at him. He kept smiling down at me. He placed a cool hand to the right side of my face. He brought my face up to meet his as he kissed me gently.

I placed my hands on his muscular chest. I leaned in to the kiss. I let myself enjoy it because I knew at home he didn't always feel so comfortable being this intimate. He didn't like the family watching us kiss so much. Emmett was relaxed enough to enjoy this and give in to any temptation he might have. I know I would if he kept this up. And he was bound to keep it up.

The longer he kissed me, the warmer I got. Which means Emmett was getting warm too. I kept my hands where they were at and Emmett had moved his down to my waist. I could feel him gently squeezing on them. I think he wanted to do more and I wanted to him to know it was alright if he did do more.

"It's ok Emmett. Relax baby and enjoy this." I said to him gently as I looked into his eyes.

Emmett nodded, keeping a straight face. He started kissing my jawline. I loved the sensations it was sending down my body. I closed my eyes and pressed myself against Emmett. I took a breath in because each time he kissed along my jaw and neck, he always hit these sweet places. I felt him open his mouth a couple times to lightly nick at my neck and collar bone.

I had moved my arms around the nape of his neck. Then I managed to wrap my legs around his waist. Emmett had my back pressed against the tree. Not that he couldn't support me himself, but he wanted me to be comfortable and be ready to catch myself.

Just as Emmett was about to really heat things up, he froze. Emmett quickly fixed everything about our clothes and set me down. He turned around and looked in the direction of the noise. I followed his gaze, unsure of what we were looking for. His hearing was better than mine.

"Emmett, what do you he-…" He cut me off there by shushing me.

That's when a bear walked out and had her cubs with her. Emmett stood between me and the bears. The mother looked absolutely enraged. She didn't want anything hurting her cubs. Emmett was going to be her biggest threat.

"Stay here and do not, I repeat not, move until I tell you everything is clear." Emmett said half looking at me hiding behind him.

I nodded in understanding. Emmett turned back to the bear. She was threatening to charge at us if we made any sudden movements. I stayed as still as I could behind Emmett. I didn't know if he were going to hunt or if maybe the bear was trying to get to me. Either way, Emmett was in a defensive stance.

"Ok. It's all clear now. She left without attacking." Emmett said, going back to normal.

"Good. I didn't want to be a meal for four hungry bears today." I said.

"I wouldn't have let that happen. I always like a challenge from a bear anyway." Emmett smiled.

"We better get back to the house and share the good news with everyone. I'm sure they are all dying to know." I said smiling and giving an eye roll.

Emmett laughed and carried me home. When we got close, He set my feet down on the ground. We walked into the house together. We chuckled and laughed thinking about how close we were to revealing the secret location of Emmett's favorite place here. Everyone was sitting by the fire.

"I assume you two had a good time." Esme said as we came in.

"We did have a very good time. It was beautiful outside where we were at. I love seeing the sun hit the snow and watching the white little crystals shimmer." I said.

"They are beautiful. So what did you guys do while you were out?" Esme asked.

I looked to Emmett. He smiled and nudged me. I guess he wanted me to tell everyone our little secret. I looked down and blushed. I looked up to everyone and smiled widely at them.

"Emmett and I are engaged!" I said excitedly.

Everyone looked to each other with happiness. Then they came over to us. They hugged us and said congratulations. The only one who wasn't there anymore was Rosalie. I didn't think how upsetting this would be for her to hear. I wanted to talk to her, but didn't hear her leave. I thought where she might be.

Suddenly I thought of the one place she'd enjoy being at more than anywhere else. I told everyone I'd be back, then walked out to the garage. When I got there, her legs were sticking out from under Emmett's Jeep. I walked a few steps closer before I stopped. I was trying to think of what to say to her.

"I don't want to talk about it." Rosalie said bluntly.

"I understand Rosalie. I just want you to know that Emmett will always be close to you. He will always be thankful that you were able to bring him to Carlisle and save him. He loves you like he would love his own family because you are his family now." I explained.

Rosalie came out from under the car. She stood up and dusted herself off. Then she looked me in the face. Everything about her face explained exactly how she felt. She was heartbroken. I wanted to hug her. To tell her that everything was going to be ok. I just didn't want to push my luck with her.

"I know you think you are helping me, but it's making me feel worse. I'm not mad at you. I'm not mad at Emmett. I'm mad at myself." Rosalie said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because the day I brought Emmett home to be saved, I thought he was the one for me. I thought I had finally found my soul mate. Things just didn't work out like that though. Like most other problems in my life, it just didn't work." Rosalie explained.

I finally understood. Rosalie wasn't angry because of us being together. She was angry because she hadn't found the person to make her life better. She wanted to find the love of her life. The person that would complete her in ways that the rest of us couldn't.

"Rosalie, I know that there is some lucky person out there waiting to look into your eyes and realize that you are their soulmate. I know it doesn't seem possible right now, but it will happen. I can promise you that. Just don't give up hope." I said.

Rosalie had hugged me for the first time that day since she found out about when I was raped. We had related once again on a more personal level. I loved to feel her hug and knew she needed someone that she could talk to without feeling like she were going to be criticized for it. I was going to do my best to be that person for her.


	29. Chapter 29

We walked back to the house together. We both were smiling and talking. I only hoped that Rosalie and I could become closer and be more like sisters. She was really very sweet deep down. She had just been hurt so much since before she was turned into a vampire.

"Thank you for the talk. I feel better now." Rosalie said.

"Good. Please know that I am here for you if you ever need to talk Rosalie. I want us to be close like sisters." I told her.

She smiled warmly at me and hugged me before going upstairs. I watched her for a second then felt Emmett wrap his arms around me. I put my hands on his and leaned my head against his chest. I took a deep breath in and let it out.

"How did everything go?" Emmett asked.

"It went better than I thought. I feel like I understand Rosalie so much better now after we had a chance to talk." I said.

"That's good. So is she trusting you better now?" Emmett asked.

"I don't think it was ever a matter of trust Emmett. I think it was a matter of her just feeling so lonely. Not that she doesn't love you guys as her family now, but she needs a more romantic relationship. She needs to find her soulmate." I explained to him.

"I see. Are you going to try and help her somehow?" He asked.

"I don't think I can help her with something like that, but I can offer her my friendship. Offer a listening ear or two. I know it's not much to offer, but I think it will help until the one comes along for her." I said.

Emmett smiled at me. "I'm sure you're right. It probably is the best thing to do. Be there for her if she needs it."

I smiled back at him. I placed a gentle kiss to his lips. He kissed back. We went back to the living room and sat down by the fire place. Emmett had placed a blanket and some pillows on the floor. He made it comfortable for us.

As we sat there I noticed how chilled I felt. The fire felt nice against my skin. I scooted myself closer to the fire to get warmer. My back was starting to hurt too. I felt Emmett come closer to me. I laid my head on his chest behind me. I looked at the fire, wondering why he'd ask me to marry him. I turned to look at him as we sat there getting warm.

"Emmett? Why did you ask me to marry you? I know it's a silly question to ask, but I was just wondering about it." I asked.

"Well it's because I love you so much. I want to be with you for the rest of eternity." Emmett said.

He searched my face. I wasn't sure exactly what he was looking for, but he must've found whatever it was he was looking for.

"Why so sad babe?" He asked.

I looked down. I hadn't realized that I looked so sad to him. I did feel a little sad. I didn't understand why myself, but a question popped into my mind that I needed to ask him.

"Emmett we could spend together if you'd just change me. Why not just go that way? Change me then we could spend the rest of forever together. Wouldn't that be easier? Easier than marrying someone who is so… So ugly?" I asked, frowning as I thought about how I looked.

I never felt beautiful. Even though Emmett had confirmed that he thought I was beautiful so often that it would kill someone, I still didn't feel like I deserved someone like him. Emmett was too sweet and too caring for me. He was too attractive for someone who looked like I did. We weren't even in the same league. Hell we weren't even playing the same sport for that matter.

"Because I love you. You are the woman who would be the center of my dreams if I had any. You make me feel like nothing else in this world could possibly matter. I need you in my life so that my balance will stay in place. I want to do this the right way. I want to make you my wife before I turn you." Emmett explained.

That was the sweetest thing I'd ever been told. It made me feel things for Emmett. Things that I'd felt for him before. I straddled him after he finished talking, looking serious as he wondered what was wrong with me. I felt a tear roll down my cheek as I kissed him passionately.

"What's wrong Brittlyn? What did I say?" Emmett asked me, frowning a little.

"Nothing is wrong. Everything is absolutely perfect Emmett. I couldn't imagine what about me is so perfect to you. I know you are my mate, but I'm not perfect. I'm less than perfect." I said.

I kissed Emmett as I ran my hand down his chest. Emmett placed a hand on the small of my back. I felt him getting hard under me. I wanted this so badly right now. It brought back the feelings we had earlier.

"Do you mind topping?" He asked.

"I don't mind, but I don't want the family walking in on us." I said.

"They left already. I heard them all walk out the door just a few minutes ago." Emmett said as we undressed.

Emmet had sat back down where he was, erection and all sticking out. I lowered myself on him. I let out a sigh as I felt him going into me. I was feeling a little tense and was ready for this. I started kissing Emmett on the lips again. He had put his hands on the small of my back again. He slowly moved them to my hips.

He had a snug grip on them. It didn't hurt and I found myself enjoying it. I had pressed my breasts against his chest as I kissed him. He pulled me back enough to kiss on my collar bone. One of his hands had found its way up to my breast. Emmett had a hold on it, making sure not to squeeze too tight on it. I could feel myself becoming very excited about this.

I started moving my hips to make some small movements on his erection. Emmett was careful not to hurt me as he held on to me. I was trying to give him as much pleasure as I was feeling. I felt him grow inside me. It felt nice. Emmett knew of all the touches that would make me feel as if I wanted to explode a thousand times for him. He could make me feel as if I were his own little pet with the way he touched me.

I hadn't paid much attention at first, but I soon realized that with Emmett's touches combined with my own movements I was not only moving my hips. I was moving them as I slightly bounced up and down on his hardened member. I was biting my bottom lip, fighting off a scream on intense pleasure. I was extremely close to making a mess all over Emmett.

"Say it. Scream my name on this one baby girl. I know you want to." Emmett told me.

I listened to him. As I exploded all over him, I gripped his hair and placed a hand on the nape of his neck. I pulled him closer to me as I had let out everything that had built up inside me. I had twitched a couple times as it happened. I then laid my head on his shoulder as I slowly breathed in and out.

"That was amazing Brittlyn. I didn't know that you held something like that inside yourself. I should probably pull out and let you rest." Emmett said.

"No, not yet. Please? I need a moment to enjoy this. I want to stay with you like this a moment longer." I said, tightening my hug around him a little more.

Emmett snickered. "Whatever you say babe. I want you to be happy." He said.

I smiled at him. I continued my hug on him and kept my face pressed into the side of his neck. I felt so much love coming off of him in this one moment and I didn't want it to end. Eventually I fell asleep. Emmett had dressed me and laid me on the blankets in front of the fireplace. He made sure to keep a close eye on me and the fire. I was exhausted after everything that happened today. I was ready for some sleep and did.


	30. Chapter 30

I woke up a couple hours later, feeling some cramping in my stomach. It was a painful cramp I'd never had before. I stood up to go to the bathroom. I was unsteady as I stood there. I felt someone grab my arm before I tipped forward.

"Thank you." I said to whoever grabbed my arm.

"You're welcome. Why don't you let me check your vital signs to make sure you are okay?" The voice said back.

I turned my head enough to see that it was Carlisle. I smiled weakly at him before straightening myself out. The pain had subsided for a moment and I could hold myself up. I turned more towards Carlisle so I could speak to him.

"I should be fine now. Thank you. I think I know what the cause of my temporary pain was. I think I need to use your bathroom so if you'll excuse me." I explained, blushing a deep red.

"Of course. If you need anything, please let us know. Emmett went out to feed and wanted me to tell you in case you woke up and he wasn't here." Carlisle said.

"Thank you for telling me Dr. Cullen." I said.

He smiled at me before I ran off to the bathroom. I could feel something start to run down my legs. I had to look for a towel and washcloth to use. I had started my period. Suddenly another cramp started in my stomach. It was worse than the one I had a moment ago. Something was wrong.

I sat down on the toilet, waiting for the pain to subside. It lasted a little longer before easing up. I was starting to cry from the pain. I didn't want to alarm anyone, so I kept my emotions and thoughts in check. I even tried to keep any noises I made to a minimum.

Just then Emmett walked in. He shut the door behind him. He came over to me, looking worried and his eyes darkening from the smell of my blood. I was worried that Emmett wouldn't be able to handle this. Before I could speak, another wave of pain came over me. I held in a scream as I doubled over in pain.

"Babe! You are white as a sheet!" Emmett practically yelled.

My vision was going a little white around the edges. Everything seemed louder than it should've been. I felt Emmett's hand hold my face up. The pain had went away and came back just as quickly. I let out the scream I had in me this time. I didn't know it was coming. Something came out of me and I heard it fall into the toilet below me.

"Brittlyn. Brittlyn, stay with me." Emmett said.

"Em…" I let out weakly as I stared at him.

"Carlisle! We need you in here quickly!" Emmett said rather roughly.

I stared at Emmett's face. He looked twenty years older with the worry and anger that was written all over his face. I lifted a weak hand up to his face. I smiled at him, happy that he was here and the pain finally stopped.

Carlisle came in through the door and placed a bag on the floor next to me. He grabbed my free wrist and held on to it gently. I could tell he was trying to be careful with me. Carlisle and Emmett both saw me as being very weak right now. Emmett quickly picked me up and packed me to an office with a bed in it. I was familiar with Carlisle's home office. Whatever happened downstairs must've been bad. It felt like a cyst had burst or something. Whatever came out was much bigger than just a cyst.

"We need you to keep your eyes open Brittlyn. Carlisle is going to give you a check-up to see what exactly happened, okay?" Emmett told me.

I nodded weakly. Carlisle came in and proceeded to check on me. He did more tests around my abdomen than anywhere else. I laid there sipping on water that Carlisle had brought in for me. Emmett was stroking my hair and kept planting tiny gentle kisses on my head as Carlisle checked me out.

"Well I have good news and bad news. The bad news is it looks like you had a miscarriage. I'm sorry about that. The good news is everything looks fine and we should be able to fix you up here in no time. You will need to rest for a couple of days." Carlisle said.

"How could that be? We were so careful." I mumbled.

"Accidents can and do happen." Carlisle said.

Emmett stood there. Then he started lashing out.

"Why was I so careless and wreckless? I could kill you so easily by doing this." Emmett said.

His words stung me. I know what he meant, but it still hurt.

"Emmett, please don't be mad. It could happen to anyone. We both know that you are being careful and that's all I can ask of you." I told him.

"You don't understand. I could literally kill you while we are both wanting sex. I can't risk that anymore and I don't want to hurt you." Emmett said before punching his fist through a nearby nightstand.

It frightened me. I wasn't sure what was more frightening to me. The fact that Emmett was so strong or the fact that he wasn't willing to be very intimate with me until after I changed. I was so conflicted because it also made me feel a little happy that he was wanting to be so careful with me.

"Em, I'm going to be ok." I said as I stretched out to grab his hand.

He pulled back.

"I can't trust myself enough to touch you right now." Emmett said.


	31. Chapter 31

The next few days were rough for me. Emmett wouldn't touch me at all. We had started a new semester at school. Emmett still wouldn't touch me at this point, not even to hold my hand. I had tried to tell him again and again that he wasn't going to hurt me.

"Emmett you aren't going to hurt me. You haven't hurt me yet." I said.

"Maybe that's what you think. I have hurt you though. You may not see it the same way I do, but one day you'll see it from my side." Emmett'd always say.

"Emmett, I know you think you have hurt me in more ways than one. I'm going to be fine though. I am only a little emotionally hurt. But that's all. I promise I'm fine in every other way." I'd tell him.

"I'm sorry. I can't feel sorry enough for hurting you. I can't even begin to apologize enough for my recklessness." Emmett would say and turn away from me.

That's the same conversation we'd have every time I'd try to touch him. Even if I wanted to hold his hand he'd pull it away. It frustrated me and saddened me that he wouldn't touch me. When we started back with classes, we didn't get to spend a lot of time together.

A couple weeks passed and I got to see some of my friends from last semester. Jessalyn and I had a class together again. We had agreed to go out on Saturday for drinks again. When the time finally came, I rode with her to the bar.

"So how have things been with you and Emmett?" She asked.

"Good I guess. We've hit a kind of rough patch. You know?" I said, feeling sad at the thought.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Well let's just say that I was hurt recently and Emmet is afraid of hurting me more. I keep telling him that he isn't going to hurt me, but he doesn't seem to believe me." I explained.

She frowned and stared out the window. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but I was sure she was about to tell me that she was going to take Emmett's side. I wasn't in the mood for a lecture. I just really wanted to get drunk and forget my problems for a while.

"I think you should consider this from his side Britt. I know you might think he is being ridiculous, but if it was bad enough, then I'm sure he has your best interest at heart. Plus he is a pretty big guy." Jessalyn told me.

"I know. I have considered it from his side. He hasn't hardly told me since I've been hurt. Actually he hasn't touched me at all since the night..." I said before trailing off.

We made it to the bar we had visited last semester. I got out of the car with her and walked in. The bouncer recognized us and let us in. I went straight to the bar and asked for six tequila shots and a margarita.

I knew Jessalyn didn't like the idea of me getting drunk. I couldn't resist the idea of it right now. I needed a way to get rid of the tension I had. I had the bartender keep the drinks coming. After about an hour and a half went by, I was pretty drunk. Everything was becoming very fuzzy. I knew I was on the verge of blacking out if I drank much more.

The music that was playing was perfect for dancing. Guys kept walking up to me and asking me to dance. I agreed to dance with them because I loved dancing. I had no more interest in them than just being a dance partner.

Some of the guys danced rather close to me. I would just walk away from them. This one guy in particular was from one of the frat houses close to campus. He was a muscular guy. He was rather handsome, but he was anywhere near as attractive as my Emmett was. He walked over to me.

"Hey there gorgeous. What is a beautiful girl like you doing here alone with a female friend?" He asked.

"Trying to forget some troubles I've had recently. What are you doing here? Looking for a good time?" I asked him, giving a small smile.

"Maybe. You are so beautiful. I really never have seen such a beautiful young lady before. I think we could have plenty of fun together. Why don't you come with me?" He said, smiling deviously.

I suddenly felt sick at the thought of what he was probably thinking. I stood up to go find Jessalyn. I looked around for her, but couldn't find her. I wasn't sure where she went off to. The frat guy grabbed my arm and spun me around. He pressed my back up against the bar.

I knew what he was planning on doing. I was frightened and couldn't move. I didn't know what I should be doing. Suddenly the guy was knocked off me by someone. I was starting to fall over but whoever knocked him over grabbed me by the arm. I looked at the man who held me with his hand.

"Emmett?! How did you find me?" I asked, feeling startled and very drunk.

"It wasn't hard and I'm sure you can take an educated guess how I found you. I told your friend I was going to take you home." Emmett said in a stern tone.

I watched his face as he stared at me.

"I'm sorry Emmett." I said.

"I know you are. You will be making it up to me later. First we need to get you home and get you in a better state of mind. You smell like a tequila factory. How much have you drank?" He said.

"A lot more than I probably should have. I have just felt so tense. This is the first time you have touched me in almost three weeks Emmett." I said.

Emmett walked over to the bar and paid my tab. I felt guilty. Not only for him paying for my drinks, but for how have I been trying to make him see things from my point of view. I knew now that I hadn't been totally fair to Emmett. He was processing everything in his own way on his own time.

"Emmett I'm really sorry for everything. Can you ever forgive me?" I asked.

He nodded. "You are forgiven for this. And you did nothing wrong but have your own opinion before. I still love you. I hope you know that." He said.

"Of course I do. I hope you know that I love you too." I said back.

He smiled at me for the first time in two and half weeks. He took a step closer to me. He leaned down grabbed my face between his hands and kissed me on the lips. That was the most physical contact we had in that long too.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"Just for me loving you. That's as far as I want to go right now though. I hope you can understand that." He said.

I nodded and smiled at him. He held his arms open for a hug. I walked into his arms and hugged him. It was nice and I enjoyed it while I could.


	32. Chapter 32

Things between Emmett and myself started improving, mostly due to us having to see each other for class once a week. We would hold hands going to this class, because Emmett could stand that. It was still hard for him to kiss me or hug me after what had happened.

I have kept my mouth shut around him and everyone else, while Bella has helped to protect my mind mostly from Edward. Usually it seemed like Edward was more distracted by Bella and Nessie when they were all around. I knew he'd still hear my thoughts, but I was more or less careful about when and where I thought about how I felt. It was hard to keep anything a secret for very long in this house because of Alice and Edward alone.

Somehow I managed to keep myself out of most of the drama that went on around her, usually because Alice would warn me about it in advance through a text. I wouldn't come over when anything drama related would happen, mostly because I've had enough to last me a life time already.

On one particular day, I drove home with Emmett and was excited to get to see Nessie and Jake. They had come home for a couple weeks and this was the last day they'd be home before leaving for another trip to somewhere else they hadn't been to yet. Nessie looked like Bella must have before she turned, having blushed cheeks, long brown hair and chocolate brown eyes.

"Hey everyone!" I said as I entered the front door.

"Brittlyn!" Nessie screamed as I walked in.

She had insisted on me calling her Nessie because her beloved Jacob had started calling her that at such a young age. I thought it was sweet that Jacob had given her the nickname. He seemed so much older than Nessie though and I could tell that on occasion it bothered both Bella and Edward. I couldn't understand exactly why it bothered them, but I didn't ask why either. I knew not to get involved in any business that wasn't absolutely necessary to my own life or the ones I cared about.

"Hey Nessie. How are you doing?" I asked as I turned to see her facing me, glaring and mad.

"What?" I asked.

"Why didn't you tell me about what happened between you and Emmett?" She asked, huffing at the end of that sentence.

"What are we talking about?" I asked, not knowing which thing she could possibly wanting to know about.

"The miscarriage?! Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, clearly feeling exasperated.

"Sorry for not telling you, but I didn't realize that it'd even come up again. I just really want to leave it in the past where it belongs, which is hard to do when people bring it up." I said.

"It still would've been nice to know. Even if I had found out from you Emmett. I thought-…" Nessie said, before I could cut her off.

"How did you even find out about that?" I asked, trying to keep my emotions under control so Jasper didn't have to.

"Uhh…" She said and backed away towards Jacob.

"Who. Told. You. Renesme?" I asked, feeling my anger build.

"Rosalie…" She said before hiding behind her boyfriend.

Jacob had taken a protective stance in front of Nessie. I don't think I could've done any real damage to her, but it was nice to know that Jake cared enough about her to be protective. By this time the whole family had found their way into the hall where the rest of us were standing. I turned to almost glare at Rosalie, wondering why she would tell Nessie something so personal out of my own life.

"What do you have to say for yourself Rosalie?" I asked angrily.

"Don't yell at Rosalie for this Brittlyn." Emmett told me.

"Wait, what?!" I asked in a surprised tone.

"I'm sure Rose had a good reason for telling her, that's all I'm saying." Emmett said.

"So you are really going to take her side? You don't think that it was inappropriate of her to tell Nessie something from our life?" I asked, my anger coming back stronger this time.

"That's not what I'm saying! I just think that you should at least hear her out to see why she'd tell Renesme that of all things." Emmett said in a yelling tone.

I looked to Rosalie, waiting for an explanation as to why she'd say a single word of this to anyone.

"I didn't know that we were keeping it a secret. I'm sure she would've heard anyway from someone else even if she hadn't heard from me. I just thought that she should know before you guy got married." Rosalie explained.

I was feeling conflicted about all of this, mostly because it was my story to share when I was ready. I took in a deep breath and calmed myself down because I knew that Rosalie meant well. It just hurt me knowing that she wouldn't let me share this in my own time. I walked over to her and gave her a hug that I thought we both needed.

"Just promise me that you'll leave it up to me the next time the story needs to be told. Okay?" I said.

"Okay, I promise no more surprises from me for a while." Rosalie said, putting on her biggest smile.

After we finished, I turned back towards Nessie and looked at her peeking at me from around Jacob. I smiled at her and she smiled back. She came over and hugged me, knowing I probably wouldn't be able to stay made at her for very long.


	33. Chapter 33

I took Emmett upstairs by the hand after that, hoping we could talk for a few minutes. I needed to know why Emmett was so afraid of hurting me, when he has proved time and time again that he hasn't or wouldn't dare to do such a thing.

I closed the door behind us just to give us a little more privacy. I wanted to be sure that they understood I wasn't kidding about this. I wanted Emmett to know I wasn't kidding because I knew him well enough that he wouldn't hurt anything unless my life depended on it.

I sat on the bed and brought him over with me. I sat directly across from him and made him look at me before I started speaking. It was probably going to get intense, but we needed to have this talk.

"Emmett, do you know that I love you? That I trust you? I'd give you anything and everything on this planet just to know that you were happy and alive." I said.

"I know you would. I see it in your actions or the way you speak every single day. I know you love me almost as much as I love you. I know you have all this trust in me, thinking I am some kind of super hero or something." Emmett explained.

"It's because you are my own personal super hero Emmett. You have so much more self-control than you give yourself credit for. I know it seems hard to believe now, but the miscarriage and pregnancy were not all your fault. It takes two people to get pregnant Emmett. The miscarriage wasn't even because of you. It was because of some other reason. One that had nothing to do with you." I explained to him.

I pulled Emmett's face up to look at mine, so I could at least see how he felt. He looked on the verge of tears and it made me feel so bad. I know he needed to hear this and I was the only person who could tell him without him becoming seriously mad. It was hard to stay strong right now because Emmett was always the one person in this family that could make anyone laugh no matter what was going on.

"I know you will be a great father when the time is right Emmett. You just need to be patient because this isn't going to happen right away baby. Just know that you are a strong and caring man. It's okay to be upset or talk about how you are feeling. Especially when you are wanting to talk to me about anything. I am here for you." I said.

Emmett pulled me over to him, sitting me on his lap and kissing me like crazy. I knew this was the ticket to getting my man back to normal. I let Emmett do what he need to do so he got all this stored up energy out of his system. He had recently fed, so he was going to have a lot more control than usual.

"Thank you for this. I know I haven't been the best mate ever to you, but I want you to know this means so much to me." Emmett finally said.

"I know baby, I know." I said, hugging him to me as he lay there.


	34. Chapter 34

I lay in Emmett's arms, knowing he wanted to be a protector. I needed to feel like I was being protected. Emmett's touch always comforted me so much. It wasn't that he had to touch me any certain way. Anything as simple as a hug would make me smile.

Just lying on the bed in his arms made me feel as if nothing else on the planet even mattered. I never really realized it, but I am a person who craves a loving or friendly touch from others. It always made me feel so good to get a hug from someone who I knew.

"Emmett?" I asked.

"Yeah?" He asked back.

"Do you know how much I truly love you? I don't mean any specific level. Just in general I feel this love for you. Like when we are separated, then I feel an ache in my chest that won't go away until I see you again." I said, my expression changing to an almost puppy kind of sad.

Emmett propped himself u on one arm so he could look at me. He gently moved a strand of hair off my face. I waited and watched him. His lips turned down slightly at the corners. His eyes had this emotion in them that I didn't understand. Maybe sadness or longing for something.

"I know how you feel, but I didn't realize that a mate, especially not a human one, could feel the connection that strongly." He said, keeping the slightest hint of sadness in his mouth.

"I can and I want you to know that I have wanted nothing more than to just be with you when I have free time." I said, digging my face into his chest and wrapping my arms around his waist.

"I love you too. I don't want us to be separated for very long either." He said as he wrapped his free arm around me and pulled me in.

"Can we go for a walk tomorrow Em?" I asked.

"Sure we can. Where ever you'd like to walk at is fine, but I'm sure I know where you want to go." Emmett said.

I smiled and sighed. I snuggled into Emmett's chest before falling asleep. I didn't know what it was, but I felt so relaxed and was ready for sleep. I had a dreamless night, sleeping peacefully and soundly.

The next morning, the sun came shining in through the window. It was bright and a little blinding as I woke up. I look at the clock on my nightstand to see that it's only ten. I didn't sleep in too late this morning which was an improvement for me.

Just before I could get myself out of bed, the smell of food came floating into the bedroom. It smelled delightful and was a mix of wonderful scents. I looked at myself in the mirror before going downstairs. I fixed my hair and grabbed my robe to put on before going downstairs.

When I walked into the kitchen, I saw Esme, Carlisle and Emmett moving around the kitchen. They were all cooking. I knew it must have been for me because I knew they didn't eat. I didn't understand why they were cooking all of this though. I felt confused.

"Good morning everyone!" I said, still trying to wake up.

"Good morning babe!" Emmett said before crossing the room to kiss me on the forehead.

"I hope you're hungry. Emmett insisted on making you some breakfast and taking some with you on your little hike." Esme said with a sweet motherly smile.

"I am hungry and now I am less confused." I explained.

I noticed some movement behind me. It was so soft that I couldn't be sure if it was even anything. Then I noticed someone standing in the doorway beside me. I saw long brown hair on the person beside me.

"Good morning Brittlyn." I heard Bella say.

I turned my head and smiled at her before speaking. "Good morning Bella. And to you Edward."

I noticed a strange look on Edward's face before he gave a smile to his family. He was telling Bella something, but I couldn't be sure what. Suddenly I heard another set of footsteps. These were a little more distinct and a little easier to hear. It was Jacob with Nessie.

I smiled at them both before Emmett surprised me with a hug and picked me up. I was worried about hurting him, but remembered it probably wouldn't be likely while I was still human. I stared at him with a blank face as he packed me to the kitchen table. The food was set out and I looked at it as if I hadn't eaten in a month. Nessie and Jake came to join in. They helped to take down some of the food. I didn't feel so bad then for eating all that I did.


	35. Chapter 35

I finished up eating while Nessie and Jacob continued to eat. I put my things in the sink and was about to wash them. Emmett stopped me and pulled me toward the door with a jacket wrapped around my shoulders. He stopped long enough for me to put my shoes. Then he pulled me out the door and went out towards the back.

"Emmett, why are you in such a hurry?!" I asked with excitement filled confusion.

"I'm just ready to get out of the house. Oh I forgot something at the house. Go on ahead and I will catch up with you in a minute." Emmett said before turning back to go to the house.

I stopped to watch him for a second. He was gone before I could even ask what he was getting. I shrugged and walked out to our own sanctuary. I didn't pay attention to anything that was going on around me. Something was following me, but I hadn't noticed.

When I walked out into the opening of our spot, I could tell something was different about it. I couldn't place it. Something looked different. I did a thorough scan of the small area, wondering what was out of place. Suddenly, there was a cougar coming out of the tree line across from where I stood.

I knew there was no chance of me running from it. It had spotted me and I couldn't move. I was frightened, my mind was in a tizzy. I couldn't think straight and my body had frozen up. There wasn't a thing I could do.

The cougar stalked towards me slowly. Watching me as if I were some sort of snack for it. It lunged at me, taking me down. It growled then scratched me on my arm and biting me on the leg. It released my leg and snapped its head up. I hardly noticed because I was in pain then felt numbness set in. I couldn't move because of being hurt.

The cougar moved off me in an instant. I closed my eyes, unsure of what was going on. I blacked out. I felt like I was floating. Something had picked me up, but I wasn't sure what it was or where we were going. I couldn't possibly stay much longer. I felt like all of my blood had drained out of me. Hopefully Emmett wouldn't be too upset by this. I wanted him to live a very long and happy life.


	36. Chapter 36

The darkness and the pain I felt seemed to last forever. Suddenly, I felt something sharp against my neck. I screamed as I felt the pain and shock from the bite. Did the cougar come back to finish me off? I hoped so because this was taking forever.

Everything burned, my back arched off the ground. The burning lasted for so long, I had to wonder if I was burning in hell. If so, then this is not what I had imagined at all. The burning did subside after a little while. My back relaxed and fell back to the table.

Everything in my body relaxed and felt numb. I could feel things in my body start to shut down, slowly making its way to my heart. There was a little burning left there, but it didn't last long enough to make a difference.

I lay there for a long time after the burning had quit. I couldn't bring myself to move. I knew the numbness and burning had left long ago. I could hear everything and nothing all at the same time. There were several pairs of feet walking to where I lay. I hadn't noticed I was moved into a room. I felt a hard surface under me.

I opened my eyes only to take in everything around me. I took in every minor detail there was. I sat up instantly, not giving it more than a seconds thought. I looked around the room, seeing everyone standing on the far side of the room. They stared at me, waiting to see a reaction from me. Emmett casually made his way over to me.

"Hey Brittlyn. How are you feeling?" Emmett asked me quietly.

"Fine now. How did you guys manage to find me? I thought that cougar got me." I said.

Emmett frowned, looked at everyone, then back to me. I looked around curiously, wondering what was going on.

"The cougar did get you. Do you remember anything after you got attacked?" Carlisle asked.

"I remember feeling so many things. Like I was floating, numbness, pain… I don't remember how I got here or anything else." I said.

Everyone looked at each other. I could see how concerned they were. I looked up at Emmett thinking what could possibly be wrong.

"What's going on you guys?" I asked.

Emmett smiled at me. "Why don't you look in the mirror at yourself?" He asked.

He held out his hand for me to take. I grabbed it quickly. I noticed we were the same temperature. I followed Emmett to a mirror that was leaned against the glass wall which faced out toward the woods.

I looked in the mirror to see what everyone else had saw. I had been turned into a vampire. I seemed… beautiful to myself for once. I stood there in awe for a moment, mesmerized by how I looked. I heard chuckling beside me. I looked up to Emmett. He had a smile that went from ear to ear. I turned to face him. I smiled and giggled at him.

"What is so funny?" I asked.

"I think it's great that you are really starting to see how beautiful you really are. You are starting to see yourself as I see you." Emmett said.

I leaned up to kiss Emmett sweetly. He wrapped his arms gingerly around my waist. He pulled me closer to him. He kissed me a little more passionately. I heard someone cough from the other side. I pulled away and looked around Emmett. I smiled, knowing it was Jasper getting our attention.

"So how do you feel?" Jasper asked.

I thought for a second before I felt the burning begin in my throat.

"I think it's time that I go hunt." I said.

I turned toward the glass wall and quickly found the window. I opened it and jumped out. I ran off through the woods. I knew exactly what I was looking for. I went to the spot I remembered last being at. I took the chance on seeing if the cougar was still there.

When I arrived, I immediately noticed a big red spot on the ground. That's where I had been laying only a few days before, bleeding heavily. I caught the scent of something. It smelled very animal like. I heard the sounds of so many things around me. I heard the padded paws of an animal walking towards me. I looked in the direction it came from.

The cougar came out of the tree lining. I heard someone run towards us in the woods, but before I could look I was already lunging at the animal. I grabbed the animal and stuck my teeth to its neck. It quickly stopped moving and was quickly drained of blood.

I stood and felt more energized than ever. I turned to see Emmett staring at me. He looked shocked that I had accomplished this without him. I smiled and walked over to him. I hugged him. As I got to Emmett, he had a funny look on his face.

"What's wrong Emmett?" I asked.

"This might sound crazy, but I can't see you." He explained.

"What do you mean you can't see me?" I asked.

"You disappeared. Go look in the water." He said.

I did as he said. I went to look in the water at my own reflection. I was gone. I couldn't see myself. When I thought about seeing my reflection, I reappeared. I wondered how powerful this was going to be. I walked over to Emmett and thought to try something. I touched him and tried turning him invisible.

"Holy hell! It worked!" I exclaimed.

"What? What worked?" Emmett asked.

"I turned you invisible!" I said excitedly.

I could hear Emmett walk over to the water. I waited for his reaction.

"Wow! Can you make me visible again?" He asked.

"Yes, but you will have to come to me so I can do it." I said.

Emmett came back to me and placed his hand in mine. I was able to make him visible again. I was excited to show everyone my ability. Emmett and I decided to try something. I hoped it worked. He wanted to pack me back anyway.


	37. Chapter 37

Emmett picked me up and held me in his arms. I lay limp in them, wondering if we could pull this off. I warned Emmett to be careful of his thoughts. I'd be careful of mine as well. This was going to be fun.

He walked back to the house, holding me. Everyone would see us coming to the door. When we would get to the door, I'd turn us invisible. It'd be a good little prank for us. Everything had gone according to plan so far. Emmett and I pretended like I had passed out. Hopefully everyone would think that this was my new ability. Or at least part of it.

I heard the door open just as Emmett walked to the porch steps. I opened my eyes to see Carlisle standing there. He walked out a little farther, waiting to see us come in. He looked around very confused. Suddenly I made us visible and Carlisle jumped.

"Surprise!" Emmett yelled.

"What was that? Where did you guys come from?" Carlisle asked.

"It's my ability Carlisle. I can turn myself and anyone I touch invisible or visible again." I explained.

Carlisle was clearly surprised. He asked me to join him in his study. He wanted to talk about this a little more. He wanted me to try it on some objects as well, seeing if my power was limited to just people or if I could use it on anything at all.

After a few minutes of testing, we figured out that it worked on almost everything. It fascinated Carlisle greatly and asked if he could study me. I said yes then thought of something else that seemed fairly important.

"What am I going to do about school?" I asked Carlisle, feeling very alarmed. I had already missed a day of classes.

"It's already taken care of. Esme talked to the dean and a few others at the college. She had said that you were not doing well and said we were adopting you because of medical issues. Then she took you out of school and paid for all of your tuition. You will not need to go back. We actually took Emmett out as well because someone needs to be with you for a little while until you get used to everything." Carlisle explained.

This news made me feel very happy. I smiled and thanked Carlisle because this was a very big deal and very gracious of him. I managed to hug him. He hugged me back. I went to talk to Emmett about all of this. He was almost as excited as I was about it all.


	38. Chapter 38

Over the next year, so much had happened. I had successfully completed my first year as a vampire. It was very tough at times because I was extremely tempted to move off of the "vegetarian" diet that the Cullen's had adopted from Carlisle.

Emmett and I had our own little wedding with his family during the summer. It was a very small wedding that Alice wasn't found of, but she quickly got over it. She was happier about Emmett and myself getting married than anything else.

Then I learned that I wouldn't be able to have children. That didn't bother me so much as I thought it would. I thought about how having kids would be a big job. About a month after that, I learned that it was less than impossible for me to become pregnant. I had a beautiful little girl. Emmett and I decided to name her Colleen. We wanted to remember our Irish friend and our Irish heritage. It would also be a memory of my grandmother, who I was so close to growing up.

After that, we had a visit from Aro and the others. He was merely checking up on us and seeing if we had committed any kind of treason. When he found that we had committed no treason, he asked to speak with me. Or at the least he, read my thoughts. It was an odd experience.

He asked me to show him my unique ability. I obliged him, just so he wouldn't hurt my new family. Then showed him on one of his guards who happened to be volunteered for the job. When Aro saw how it worked, he asked if I'd wanted to join him. I politely denied this because I was in no way interested in what he or his followers were doing. They left after this.

Emmett and I never went back to college because we had our hands full with other things. We decided on waiting and just going back when things felt right for us. Which may be never, but who knows. Anything can happen.

I was happy to finally have my happily ever after with the man and family of my dreams.


End file.
